Noriyuki Takayama, Seiichi Inagaki,
and Takashi Oshio

The Japanese Longitudinal Survey on
Employment and Fertility (LOSEF):
Essential Features of the 2011 Internet
Version and a Guide to Its Users

Research Institute for Policies on Pension & Aging

The Japanese Longitudinal Survey on Employment andFertility (LOSEF): Essential Features of the 2011 Internet
Version and a Guide to Its Users

By
Noriyuki Takayama, Seiichi Inagaki,
and Takashi Oshio

Research Institute for Policies on Pension & Aging

2

Contents
Preface - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - About Authors - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 456Introduction - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7
The 2011 Internet Survey: an Overview - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 11
Some Attributes of the Survey Sample - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 15
Concluding Remarks - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 21

References - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 25
Appendix A
Layout Form of Panel Data from the 2011 LOSEF Internet
Version - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 30
Appendix B
Layout Form of Raw Data after Data Merged - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 37
Appendix C
Brief Outline of Social Security Pension System in Japan - - - - - - - - - - 773

4

Preface
The Japanese Longitudinal Survey on Employment and Fertility (LOSEF): the2011 Internet Version was composed of 3 elements undertaken simultaneously via theInternet: 1) creation of a panel data set from transcription of administrative data
(history of pension enrolment, salary history, etc.) contained in Social Security
Statements; 2) a retrospective panel survey based on the items contained therein(such as career changes, marriage, childbirth, whether or not residing with parents,etc.); and 3) a survey on many other questions relating to current living and working
circumstances.
In addition to offering an overview of the 2011 LOSEF Internet Version, thismonograph compares its basic figures with those from public statistical surveys,
thereby elucidating some characteristics of the survey respondents, such as sample
selection bias in this survey. Although some bias toward those with higher
educational backgrounds was observed, our study confirmed that this survey
represents the collection at a single stroke of almost perfect panel data spanning 45
years at maximum. Acquisition of this sort of long-term, almost flawless panel data isunprecedented in Japan—even worldwide, few such examples exist—making this anextremely rare opportunity.
Chapter 1 of this monograph presents an introduction to panel survey and theJapanese Social Security Statements which were utilized by the 2011 LOSEF Internet
Version. Chapter 2 gives an overview of the 2011 LOSEF Internet Version. Chapter 3,
by comparing the basic aggregate figures with those of public statistical data,
elucidates some characteristics of the survey respondents. Chapter 4 concludes thismonograph and suggests another possible survey with random sampling. In the
Appendix, the questionnaires and layout of our data set are presented. A brief outlineof Japan’s social security pension program is also described.
In undertaking the preliminary study upon which this study was based, financial
support was received in 2010 and 2011 via a research grant from the Japanese
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. This study was conducted as one part of the
Project on Intergenerational Equity (PIE), and was funded by a Grant-in-Aid forSpecially Promoted Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science(grant number 22000001). Detailed specifications for Social Security Statements weregenerously provided by Tsuyoshi Yazaki and Akinori Ono of the Japan Pension Service.
The authors are greatly indebted to Ms. Akiko Tomioka who took care of all the details
involved in the preparation of this volume. To all the authors are deeply grateful.
Tokyo, November 2016
Noriyuki Takayama
5About Authors
Noriyuki Takayama* is Professor Emeritus at Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, andDistinguished Scholar at the Research Institute for Policies on Pension and Aging. He
had been Director General and CEO of an academic Project on Intergenerational
Equity (PIE) for 15 years from October 2000. He has published numerous books andarticles in international journals, including Econometrica and The American
Economic Review. His monographs include The Greying of Japan and The Morning
After in Japan. In addition, he has edited several books, such as Taste of Pie:
Searching for Better Pension Provisions in Developed Countries, Pensions in Asia,
Closing the Coverage Gap, Fertility and Public Policy, Priority Challenges in
Pension Administration, Securing Lifelong Retirement Income, and Reforming
Pensions for Civil and Military Servants. He is also author of Saving and WealthFormation (in Japanese), which was awarded the 1996 Nikkei Prize for the best bookon economic issues.
Seiichi Inagaki is currently Professor at International University of Health andWelfare, Narita, Japan. After a lengthy career covering various roles and departments
as a civil servant in the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan, he has been
engaging in an academic job since 2009. He was once Professor at Hitotsubashi
University (2009-2012) and Tokyo Institute of Technology (2013-2015). His researchhas been largely focused on a dynamic microsimulation model and its related issues
such as actuarial matters. He is a certified pension actuary and obtained Ph.D. in
Economics from Tokyo International University in 2005.
Takashi Oshio is Professor at Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo. After working foreleven years as a researcher and economist in the Japanese Government and J. P.
Morgan, he started an academic job in 1994. His research has been largely focused onsocial security, income distribution, education policy, and other issues related to
public finance. As for social security, he has been exploring a wide variety of
empirical analysis as a member of the NBER’s cross-country project on“International Social Security (ISS).” He obtained Ph.D. in International Public
Policy from Osaka University.
* Please direct any enquiries regarding any application for the use of the 2011
LOSEF Internet Version to the contact person, Noriyuki Takayama (email:takayama@ier.hit-u.ac.jp).

6Chapter 1

Introduction

Panel survey is a method for analyzing the dynamic socio-economic behavior of its
respondents with control for individual attributes. 1 It is achieved by tracking thesame individual continuously. It has become an indispensable tool in modern
economic research and policy evaluation. For this reason, in Japan too, theundertaking of panel surveys has become widespread in recent years, not only among
government agencies, but also among universities and private research institutions.
However, panel surveys which target the entire cross-section of society incur huge
expenses and decades of research, as well as placing heavy burdens on respondents.
They are often beset with problems of sample selection bias and drop-out of
respondents, and for this reason adequate and accurate current data is not always
available. In order to compensate for previous flawed data, the retrospective panel
method can also be used to obtain responses concerning respondents’ memories of theperiod from (for example) school graduation up to the commencement of the survey.
However, since few hints are given, the accuracy of this sort of response is notnecessarily very high, and it is difficult to ensure a sufficiently high response rate.
In order to compensate for the problems with existing panel data, the authors of
this monograph have utilized Social Security Statements, which are issued on aregular yearly basis to all those enrolled in social security pension plans, throughtranscriptions of all the items of information contained therein. Additionally, by using
this data as guidelines for questions regarding significant life events (career changes,
marriage, separation/bereavement, childbirth, educational history, residence with parents
or not, etc.), this represented an attempt to create extremely long-term panel data at asingle stroke. Many questions were also posed regarding current living and working
circumstances. As a result, the authors were able to conduct an extremely inclusive survey.
Moreover, as a preliminary study for this research, Inagaki undertook an independent
survey with a sample size of around 2,000 respondents in July 2010 (Inagaki 2012). The
results of his preliminary survey were used once more in undertaking this current research,which was conducted as an Internet survey with a sample size of around 6,000 participants
and a greatly expanded list of survey questions.2
The Social Security Statement is an administrative (governmental) document
which contains information on past enrolment in social security pension schemes,
records of national pension contribution payments, KNH (Kosei-Nenkin-Hoken,
employees’ pension) employment records, the amounts of standard monthly
compensation (pensionable remuneration), the amount of expected pension benefits,
1
2

Kitamura (2005) is a basic textbook for Japanese readers.
This survey was conducted as one part of the Project on Intergenerational Equity (PIE) (principal

investigator: Noriyuki Takayama).
7etc., and is issued annually to all residents of Japan. In particular, when they reachcertain specified ages (ages 35, 45, and 58), residents of Japan receive a Social
Security Statement containing detailed and long-term pension records starting fromage 15 (or age 20 for those enrolled in the national pension scheme) to the presentday. However, in 2009 (which was the first year that Social Security Statements were
issued) all members and pension recipients of the KNH or the national pension
scheme received this detailed version. Accordingly, by utilizing transcriptions of therecords contained in this administrative document, the authors were able to obtain
long-term and almost flawless panel data. Furthermore, by relying on theseadministrative documents we were also able to undertake a highly accurate
retrospective panel survey. Incidentally, the Japan Pension Service, which administers
Social Security Statements, recommends the creation of a personal employment
history table for each person in order to more easily confirm each item of the content
reported in Social Security Statements. This fact suggests that our retrospective panel
data section possesses sufficient accuracy. Moreover, since this Internet survey covers
not only past history as described above, but also contains many questions onpresent-day living and working circumstances, it has great potential in offering
diverse new insights and discoveries about how past lifestyle and background cometo influence present-day living and working conditions, which previous surveys havenot been successful in obtaining.
Examining the data of this survey as panel data offers both certain advantages andshortcomings that other types of surveys do not. On the one hand, the advantages
include: 1) use of administrative (governmental) data, which ensures extremely hightranscript accuracy; 2) responses in the retrospective panel section were likewise
based on administrative data, which again offers comparatively high accuracy; and 3)
linked checking of responses (for example, duration of enrolment and career history
in KNH pension scheme, accuracy of values entered for standard compensation 3, etc.)
at the time of the Internet survey, as well as linked checking of responses (duration ofenrolment in national pension scheme, total amounts of contribution, consistency ofcontribution records, etc.) after the completion of the survey. These advantages
almost entirely eliminated any erroneous values caused by inaccurate responses ordata entry mistakes. Additionally, despite the successful acquisition of extremely
long-term panel data, there was no problem of respondent drop-out.
On the other hand, shortcomings of the panel data include: 1) sample selection bias
stemming from the Internet survey format (bias toward higher educational
backgrounds, etc.; see below); 2) sampling was inclined towards persons havingsome interest in social security pension schemes (since it targets those who keep their

3

Although amounts of standard monthly compensation are discrete values by grade, survey responses weresought as continuous values.
8Social Security Statements 4); and 3) it excludes civil servants and other persons
enrolled in mutual aid associations, etc.545According to this survey, around two-thirds kept their 2009 Social Security Statement.
Since membership records for mutual aid associations are not listed on Social Security Statements, thesewere excluded from the scope of this study.
910Chapter 2

The 2011 LOSEF Internet Version: an Overview

2.1 Main Contents of Questionnaires
The Survey provides information on career history starting from the time of firstjob, marriage, child-rearing, and pension membership history for specific individuals.
It also collects information on factors influencing present-day socio-economic
circumstances and wellbeing of the respondents.
2.2 Survey Respondents
Respondents were selected among persons holding 2009 Social Security
Statements (excluding persons enrolled in mutual aid associations) who registered asmonitors at an Internet survey company, in the following age ranges:
Persons born from 1st November 1971 to 31st October 1981 (“those in their 30s”
below)
Persons born from 1st November 1961 to 31st October 1971 (“those in their 40s”
below)
Persons born from 1st April 1951 to 31st March 1960 (“those in their 50s” below)
1,000 male and 1,000 female respondents were selected at each age range, making a
total sample of around 6,000 respondents.
2.3 Survey Schedule
Respondents in their 30s and 40s were surveyed from Saturday 5th November to
Wednesday 9th November 2011. Respondents in their 50s were surveyed in two
sessions: once from Thursday 29th July to Sunday 1st August 2010, and again fromThursday 8th September to Sunday 11th September 2011, with a follow-up survey
also conducted between Friday 2nd December and Monday 5th December 2011.
2.4 Survey Items 6(1) Items transcribed from Social Security Statements (past administrative records)a) Date of last update for enrolment recordsb) Covered months of pension membership up to present (for each program)c) The estimated amount of old-age pension benefits (only for those in their 50s)d) Amounts of contributions paid up to presente) Standard monthly compensations in April of each year for KNHf) Contribution exemptions in April of each year for national pensiong) Employment history, job change history, & job leaving history (type of6

Please refer to the Appendix B of this monograph for a list of survey questionnaires and the final datalayout.
11

industries & size of employing companies, types of position & employment
status, terms of employment contract, job training received at public
institutions, reasons for job change or job leaving)(2) Past employment history, completed by each respondent based on transcript
information (retrospective panel data section)a) Employment status, marital status, employment status of his/her spouseb) Number of children, whether residing with parents or notc) Area of residence(3) Survey items regarding living conditions and well-being at the time of surveya) Respondent’s sex, date of birth, marital status, number of children, final levelof educational attainment, current employment status, yearly personal incomeb) Number of members in his/her household, relationship with family in his/herhousehold, yearly household income, monetary asset holdings, etc.
c) Spouse’s age, final level of educational attainment, current employment status,
yearly personal incomed) Items relating to subjective wellbeing, future plans to work, upbringing,parents, and old age
2.5 Response Count and Validity of Responses
This survey was an Internet survey using publicly recruited monitors, which
continued until the target number of respondents was reached. Accordingly, thenotion of a “response rate” did not exist here. However, after completion of thesurvey, the authors conducted a check against the transcript items, and excluded as
Table 1 Response count and validity of responses
Current Age (Sex)Total
30s (Male)30s (Female)
40s (Male)
40s (Female)
50s A (Male)
50s A (Female)
50s B (Male)
50s B (Female)

Response
Count
6,177
1,030
1,027
1,030
1,030
301
251
833
675

No. of Valid
Responses
5,953
999
975
995
924
301
251
833
675

Valid
Response Rate
96.4%
97.0%
94.9%
96.6%
89.7%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%

Note: “50s A” respondents were surveyed in 2010 and “50s B” respondents were surveyed in 2011, as apreliminary survey. The follow-up survey for them was only conducted for valid respondents from thepreliminary survey.

12

invalid any data inconsistent among transcript items. Table 1 shows the response
count and the number of valid responses. Responses rejected as invalid were 1) datacontaining national pension enrolment records for any April where the person wasunder 20 years of age at the end of the fiscal year; 2) data containing a discrepancy inexcess of 13 months for the KNH membership calculated from each employment
history against the KNH membership from the transcript data; and 3) data containing
a discrepancy of 100 months or more between the number of enrolled months reported
in the transcript data, and data containing 12 times the number of months of unpaid
contributions plus those qualified as Category 1 or Category 3 (data only from April
each year).
The valid response rate for the preliminary survey of “50s” respondents is indicatedin Table 2. Since considerable checking was performed at the survey stage, all valid
response rates are high; however, in general, female valid response rates were slightly
lower than male rates. This is caused by their frequent moves among pension
schemes due to marriage, childbirth, and subsequent return to work, making
transcription errors more likely.
Table 2 Response count and validity of responses (preliminary survey of 50s
respondents)
Current Age (Sex)Total
50s A (Male)
50s A (Female)
50s B (Male)
50s B (Female)

Response
Count
3,025
479
486
1,030
1,030

No. of Valid
Responses
2,666
430
387
993
856

Valid
Response Rate
88.1%
89.8%
79.6%
96.4%
83.1%

Source: Inagaki (2012)

Table 3 shows the re-calculated sample sizes (number of respondents) examinedfor each age range as panel survey data, which are just over 182,000 in total. Thissurvey was a retrospective panel, using data from age 16 to current age (age at eachyear). Thus, the maximum of 45 years of data would exist for a person aged 60 at thetime of the survey, for example. Accordingly, sample size fell as age increased. The
sample size was 5,953 for ages 16-39; 4,060 for ‘40s’ respondents; 2,121 for ‘50s’
respondents; and 351 for respondents aged 60. However, this reduction in sample size
was not due to drop-outs, but rather because the survey examined broad age classes
for the purpose of conducting cohort comparison. As well as the year of survey andthe ID numbers assigned to identify individuals, the items reorganized as panel
survey data (refer to the Appendix for layout) included 30 items related to basic
attributes, including secondary items; 13 items related to past situation in April of13each year; and 15 items related to important life events occurring each year, for a
total of 58 items. Viewed as panel survey data, the total number of responses reacheda huge number at slightly over 4 million data items, giving further evidence of thecomprehensiveness of this survey.
Table 3 Sample sizes by sex and age range (panel data set)
Age

Total

Male

Female

Age

Total

Male

Female

Age

Total

Male

FemaleTotal

182,137

97,302

84,835

31

5,887

3,093

2,794

47

2,594

1,439

1,155

16

5,953

3,128

2,825

32

5,757

3,037

2,720

48

2,424

1,343

1,081

17

5,953

3,128

2,825

33

5,608

2,978

2,630

49

2,264

1,256

1,008

18

5,953

3,128

2,825

34

5,459

2,914

2,545

50

2,121

1,174

947

19

5,953

3,128

2,825

35

5,278

2,822

2,456

51

2,060

1,134

926

20

5,953

3,128

2,825

36

4,987

2,670

2,317

52

2,060

1,134

926

21

5,953

3,128

2,825

37

4,727

2,529

2,198

53

1,820

1,018

802

22

5,953

3,128

2,825

38

4,495

2,414

2,081

54

1,553

877

676

23

5,953

3,128

2,825

39

4,283

2,303

1,980

55

1,335

753

582

24

5,953

3,128

2,825

40

4,060

2,177

1,883

56

1,141

648

493

25

5,953

3,128

2,825

41

3,863

2,077

1,786

57

944

556

388

26

5,953

3,128

2,825

42

3,655

1,975

1,680

58

767

460

307

27

5,953

3,128

2,825

43

3,444

1,867

1,577

59

574

355

219

28

5,953

3,128

2,825

44

3,256

1,780

1,476

60

351

232

119

29

5,953

3,128

2,825

45

3,064

1,686

1,378

61

180

120

60

30

5,953

3,128

2,825

46

2,831

1,561

1,270

14

Chapter 3

Some Attributes of the Survey Sample

Our survey was an Internet survey using publicly recruited monitors. According to
the JILPT (2005), respondents possess similar characteristics as postal survey
respondents (higher educational background, shorter working time, stronger feelingsof anxiety/dissatisfaction, etc.). Furthermore, the survey examined only people who
had kept their Social Security Statements and who agreed to permit transcription ofthese.
Here we will compare marital status, final level of educational attainment,
employment status, and category of insured persons with those from the public
statistical records for each sex and age class, and highlight some attributes of thesample in this survey.
Table 4 shows sample sizes broken down by sex, age range, and marital status(valid responses only; same below). After comparing these with the 2010 Japan
Population Census results (Table 5), we confirmed that in our survey, among 30s
respondents, men were slightly less likely to be married while women were slightly
more likely to be married. Aside from this, no other major discrepancies wereobserved overall in regard to distribution by marital status.
Table 6 shows sample sizes by sex, age range, and final level of educational
attainment. Comparing these results with the 2007 Employment Status Survey (Table7), we see that our sample contains more respondents with higher education
backgrounds at all age ranges. For example, looking at the rate of males in their 50s
who are university graduates or higher, our survey shows 71.4% among respondents,
while the Employment Status Survey is lower at 30.4%. This sort of sampling
selection bias is evident across all age ranges and both sexes, although varying in
extent, indicating that our survey is skewed towards respondents with higher
educational attainment. This is due to the fact that Internet users tend to have higher
educational backgrounds and the fact that our respondents were those keeping theirSocial Security Statements.

15

Table 4 Sample sizes by sex, age range, and marital status
Current Age
(Sex)
Total
30s (Male)30s (Female)
40s (Male)
40s (Female)
50s (Male)
50s (Female)

Total

Married

Unmarried

Divorced/
Separated

Widowed

5,953

4,185

1,407

311

50

( 100.0 % )( 70.3 % )( 23.6 % )( 5.2 % )( 0.8 % )

999

498

476

25

0

( 100.0 % )( 49.8 % )( 47.6 % )( 2.5 % )( 0.0 % )

975

715

228

30

2

( 100.0 % )( 73.3 % )( 23.4 % )( 3.1 % )( 0.2 % )

995

651

296

46

2

( 100.0 % )( 65.4 % )( 29.7 % )( 4.6 % )( 0.2 % )

924

696

161

63

4

( 100.0 % )( 75.3 % )( 17.4 % )( 6.8 % )( 0.4 % )

1,134

875

179

72

8

( 100.0 % )( 77.2 % )( 15.8 % )( 6.3 % )( 0.7 % )

926

750

67

75

34

( 100.0 % )( 81.0 % )( 7.2 % )( 8.1 % )( 3.7 % )Table 5 Total population by sex, age range, and marital status(units: thousands)

Current Age
(Sex)
Total
30s (Male)30s (Female)
40s (Male)
40s (Female)
50s (Male)
50s (Female)

Total

Married

Unmarried

Divorced/
Separated

Widowed50,27535,078

11,4073,169

621( 100.0 % )( 69.8 % )( 22.7 % )( 6.3 % )( 1.2 % )

8,935

5,009

3,662

255

8

( 100.0 % )( 56.1 % )( 41.0 % )( 2.9 % )( 0.1 % )

8,800

5,778

2,494

504

24

( 100.0 % )( 65.7 % )( 28.3 % )( 5.7 % )( 0.3 % )

8,253

5,672

2,118

435

28

( 100.0 % )( 68.7 % )( 25.7 % )( 5.3 % )( 0.3 % )

8,212

6,136

1,236

741

98

( 100.0 % )( 74.7 % )( 15.1 % )( 9.0 % )( 1.2 % )

7,964

6,071

1,287

504

103

( 100.0 % )( 76.2 % )( 16.2 % )( 6.3 % )( 1.3 % )

8,112

6,413

610

729

360

( 100.0 % )( 79.1 % )( 7.5 % )( 9.0 % )( 4.4 % )Note: Excludes those whose marital status is unknown
Source: The 2010 Japan Population Census (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 2012)16

Table 6 Sample sizes by sex, age range, and final level of educational attainment
Current Age
(Sex)
Total
30s (Male)30s (Female)
40s (Male)
40s (Female)
50s (Male)
50s (Female)Table 7

Juniorhigh school

Seniorhigh school

Vocational
schoolTechnical
college

University
undergraduate

5,953

45

1,448

582

845

2,727

306

(100.0 %)(0.8 %)(24.3 %)

(9.8 %)(14.2 %)

(45.8 %)

(5.1 %)

999

10

194

116

25

528

126

(100.0 %)(1.0 %)(19.4 %)

(11.6 %)

(2.5 %)(52.9 %)

(12.6 %)

975

6

207

106

227

402

27

(100.0 %)(0.6 %)(21.2 %)

(10.9 %)

(23.3 %)

(41.2 %)

(2.8 %)

Total

Graduateschool

995

8

199

108

37

570

73

(100.0 %)(0.8 %)(20.0 %)

(10.9 %)

(3.7 %)(57.3 %)

(7.3 %)

924

4

291

120

261

243

5

(100.0 %)(0.4 %)(31.5 %)

(13.0 %)

(28.2 %)

(26.3 %)

(0.5 %)

1,134

10

213

52

49

741

69

(100.0 %)(0.9 %)(18.8 %)

(4.6 %)(4.3 %)(65.3 %)

(6.1 %)

926

7

344

80

246

243

6

(100.0 %)(0.8 %)(37.1 %)

(8.6 %)(26.6 %)

(26.2 %)

(0.6 %)

Total population by sex, age range, and final level of educational
attainment(units: ten thousands)

Current Age
(Sex)

Total
30s (Male)30s (Female)
40s (Male)
40s (Female)
50s (Male)
50s (Female)

Junior highschoolSeniorhigh school

Vocational
schoolTechnical
college

University
undergraduate

5,191

429

2,308

619

585

1,153

97

(100.0 %)(8.3 %)(44.5 %)

(11.9 %)

(11.3 %)

(22.2 %)

(1.9 %)

Total

Graduateschool

925

61

366

137

32

290

39

(100.0 %)(6.6 %)(39.5 %)

(14.9 %)

(3.5 %)(31.3 %)

(4.2 %)

907

37

346

154

208

153

10

(100.0 %)(4.1 %)(38.1 %)

(17.0 %)

(22.9 %)

(16.9 %)

(1.0 %)

785

49

338

73

26

274

24

(100.0 %)(6.2 %)(43.1 %)

(9.3 %)(3.4 %)(34.9 %)

(3.1 %)

775

30

359

113

165

102

5

(100.0 %)(3.8 %)(46.4 %)

(14.6 %)

(21.3 %)

(13.2 %)

(0.7 %)

895

135

413

49

26

255

17

(100.0 %)(15.1 %)

(46.2 %)

(5.4 %)(2.9 %)(28.5 %)

(1.9 %)

904

119

486

93

127

78

2

(100.0 %)(13.1 %)

(53.7 %)

(10.3 %)

(14.0 %)

(8.6 %)(0.2 %)

Note: excludes currently enrolled students and unknown cases.
Source: 2007 Employment Status Survey (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 2009)This survey’s sample selection bias towards respondents with higher educational
backgrounds is also verified by comparison with the 2010 Japan Population Census(Table 8). The Population Census breaks educational attainments into the following 4
levels: junior high school, senior high school, technical college, and university/
17

graduate school. According to the 2010 Census results, no more than 34.1% of men in
their 50s were university/ graduate school graduates.
Table 8

Number of total population by sex, age range, and final level of
educational attainment(units: ten thousands)

Current Age
(Sex)

Total
30s (Male)30s (Female)
40s (Male)
40s (Female)
50s (Male)
50s (Female)

Senior highschool

4,488

319

2,106

916

1,147

(100.0 %)(7.1 %)(46.9 %)

(20.4 %)

(25.6 %)

772

50

329

113

280

(100.0 %)(6.5 %)(42.6 %)

(14.6 %)

(36.3 %)

772

31

299

274

168

(100.0 %)(4.0 %)(38.7 %)

(35.5 %)

(21.8 %)

734

48

347

78

261

(100.0 %)(6.6 %)(47.3 %)

(10.6 %)

(35.5 %)

741

31

371

235

104

(100.0 %)(4.1 %)(50.1 %)

(31.7 %)

(14.0 %)

726

87

346

46

248

(100.0 %)(12.0 %)

(47.6 %)

(6.3 %)(34.1 %)

744

72

415

170

87

(100.0 %)(9.7 %)(55.8 %)

(22.8 %)

(11.6 %)

Total

Technical
college

University/
GraduateschoolJunior highschoolNote: excludes pre-schoolers, currently enrolled students, and unknown cases.
Source: The 2010 Japan Population Census (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 2011b)

Table 9 shows sample sizes by sex and employment status. Comparing theseresults with the 2007 Employment Status Survey (Table 10), we see that in our survey
sample, for males of all age ranges, the proportion of regular full-time employees israther low. For example, the percentage of regular full-time employees among themale 50s sample in our survey was only 53.7%, which rose to 69.9% according to the
Employment Status Survey. This gap has arisen due to our survey’s exclusion ofmembers of mutual aid associations (since civil servants etc. comprise 10.3% of the
population of males aged in their 50s). Given this point, we do not believe that any
major bias has occurred in our survey. Moreover, among women aged 40 plus, thepercentage of part-time workers was slightly low, aside from a rather low percentageof regular full-time employees. Additionally, the percentage of non-employed was
remarkably high across all age ranges, which is due to a large sample of people
18insured as category 3 members (as described below). Note that the survey used forcomparison (the 2007 Employment Status Survey) predated the global financial crisisof September 2008, and it is possible that the employment situation underwent somestructural changes after the 2007 survey.
Table 11 shows sample sizes by sex and pension membership in various categories.
Comparing with data provided by the actuarial working group of the Social Security
Council, we see that our sample’s membership in various pension categories amongfemales in their 40s and 50s differed greatly, aside from the fact that in our survey thepercentage of respondents with Category 1 membership was low overall. For
example, in our survey the percentages of women with Category 3 membership agedin their 40s and 50s were 52.1% and 49.0%, but the actual percentages are 36.9% and30.4%, which represents differences of 10 percentage points or more. Thus, oursurvey sample is skewed toward women of those ages with Category 3 membership.
Furthermore, regardless of the fact that members of mutual aid associations were notincluded in our survey, the number of those with Category 2 membership was about
the same for both Tables 11 and 12, which indicates that, except for women aged intheir 40s and 50s, our survey is more biased towards those with Category 2
membership than those with Category 1 membership.
Table 9Sample sizes by sex, age range, and employment status

Current Age
(Sex)
Total
30s (Male)30s (Female)
40s (Male)
40s (Female)
50s (Male)
50s (Female)

Total
5,953
(100.0 %)999(100.0 %)975(100.0 %)995(100.0 %)924(100.0 %)1,134(100.0 %)926(100.0 %)Selfemployed486(8.2 %)
67(6.7 %)
21(2.2 %)
118(11.9 %)
37
(4.0 %)
193(17.0 %)
50
(5.4 %)

Part-time
FamilyFull-time
workeremployee employee etc.
120
2,454
1,191
(2.0 %)(41.2 %)
(20.0 %)
4725
128
(0.4 %)(72.6 %)
(12.8 %)
26196
262
(2.7 %)(20.1 %)
(26.9 %)
8699
83
(0.8 %)(70.3 %)
(8.3 %)
36
134
280(3.9 %)(14.5 %)
(30.3 %)
6609
154
(0.5 %)(53.7 %)
(13.6 %)
40
91
284
(4.3 %)(9.8 %)(30.7 %)

19

On leave
293(4.9 %)
36(3.6 %)
41(4.2 %)
53(5.3 %)
51(5.5 %)
77(6.8 %)
35(3.8 %)

Nonemployed
1,409(23.7 %)
39
(3.9 %)
429(44.0 %)
34
(3.4 %)
386(41.8 %)
95
(8.4 %)
426(46.0 %)

Table 10

Total population by sex, age range, and employment status(units: ten thousands)

Current Age
(Sex)
Total
30s (Male)30s (Female)
40s (Male)
40s (Female)
50s (Male)
50s (Female)

Total
5,315
(100.0 %)947(100.0 %)928(100.0 %)800(100.0 %)793(100.0 %)917(100.0 %)930(100.0 %)Selfemployed340(6.4 %)
53(5.6 %)
23(2.5 %)
72(9.0 %)
28(3.5 %)
123(13.5 %)
41
(4.4 %)

Full-timePart-time
Familyemployeeemployeeworker
87
2,787
1,053
(1.6 %)(52.4 %)
(19.8 %)
8745
84(0.8 %)(78.6 %)
(8.9 %)
14277
279(1.6 %)(29.9 %)
(30.1 %)
5629
50
(0.6 %)(78.7 %)
(6.2 %)
19265
266(2.4 %)(33.4 %)
(33.5 %)
3
638
76
(0.3 %)(69.6 %)
(8.3 %)
38
233
298(4.1 %)(25.1 %)
(32.0 %)On leave234(4.4 %)
29(3.0 %)
67(7.2 %)
19(2.3 %)
50(6.3 %)
26(2.8 %)
44(4.8 %)

Nonemployed813(15.3 %)
29
(3.0 %)
267(28.8 %)
25
(3.1 %)
166(20.9 %)
50
(5.5 %)
276(29.7 %)

Source: 2007 Employment Status Survey (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 2009)20

Chapter 4

Concluding Remarks

Summing up the preceding review of our survey, the following characteristics areevident in our sample: 1) a bias toward higher educational background among bothmales and females; 2) fewer females in their 30s and fewer males of all ages had
Category 1 membership, with more tending to have Category 2 membership; and 3)
many females in their 40s and 50s had Category 3 membership. Two constraints on
the sample used in this survey were the fact that respondents were drawn from thoseregistered as monitors with an Internet survey company and the fact that the sample
was limited to those who had kept their Social Security Statements. According to ourscreening survey, around two-thirds of people keep their Social Security Statements.
Since our sample was assigned only by sex and by age range, the fact that these sortsof biases are present in the sample suggests that persons with an interest in pensions
tended to be those with Category 2 membership rather than Category 1 membership,
as well as women in their 40s and 50s with Category 3 membership.
Table 11

Sample size by sex, age range, and category of pension membership(at April 2008)

Current Age
(Sex)
Total
30s (Male)30s (Female)
40s (Male)
40s (Female)
50s (Male)
50s (Female)

Total

Nonmember

Category 1

Category 2

Category 3

5,953

1,219

3,247

1,275

212

(100.0 %)(20.5 %)

(54.5 %)

(21.4 %)

(3.6 %)

999

205

768

2

24

(100.0 %)(20.5 %)

(76.9 %)

(0.2 %)(2.4 %)

975

142

424

318

91

(100.0 %)(14.6 %)

(43.5 %)

(32.6 %)

(9.3 %)

995

183

779

5

28

(100.0 %)(18.4 %)

(78.3 %)

(0.5 %)(2.8 %)

924

159

256

481

28

(100.0 %)(17.2 %)

(27.7 %)

(52.1 %)

(3.0 %)

1,134

296

800

15

23

(100.0 %)(26.1 %)

(70.5 %)

(1.3 %)(2.0 %)

926

234

220

454

18

(100.0 %)(25.3 %)

(23.8 %)

(49.0 %)

(1.9 %)

Note: ‘Non-members’ includes those who responded that they did not have any entries in theirSocial Security Statements. Also, Category 2 includes only those covered by the KNH,
excluding members of mutual aid associations.

21

Table 12

Number of insured persons by sex, age range, and category ofpension membership(at March 2008)(units: ten thousands)

Current Age
(Sex)
Total
30s (Male)30s (Female)
40s (Male)
40s (Female)
50s (Male)
50s (Female)

Total

Category 1

Category 2

Category 3

51,837

13,86028,2149,763(100.0 %)(26.7 %)

(54.4 %)

(18.8 %)

9,432

2,251

7,161

20

(100.0 %)(23.9 %)

(75.9 %)

(0.2 %)

9,161

2,032

3,636

3,493

(100.0 %)(22.2 %)

(39.7 %)

(38.1 %)

7,865

1,870

5,975

20

(100.0 %)(23.8 %)

(76.0 %)

(0.3 %)

7,817

1,748

2,883

3,186

(100.0 %)(22.4 %)

(36.9 %)

(40.8 %)

8,677

2,763

5,858

56

(100.0 %)(31.8 %)

(67.5 %)

(0.6 %)

8,885

3,196

2,701

2,988

(100.0 %)(36.0 %)

(30.4 %)

(33.6 %)

Note: The number of non-members is not publicly disclosed.
Source: The Actuarial Working Group of Social Security Council (2009).

Social Security Statements contain almost entirely accurate long-term records ofchanges in employment status, monthly earnings, and history of contribution
payments, starting from the moment a person commences working up to the present.
They also contain information on the estimated amount of pension benefits and theamount of contributions paid. In addition to these items of information, our survey
also asked questions about significant life events (those believed to be rememberedaccurately). As a result, it represents the acquisition at a single stroke of an almost
perfect panel data set spanning a maximum of 45 years. Needless to say, despite
exhibiting a distinctive Internet-survey sample selection bias, collection of this sort oflong-term, almost flawless panel data is unprecedented in Japan. Even worldwide,such examples are very few, 7 making this data all the more precious. This treasure
trove of information will doubtless prove extremely useful. 8
7

The PSID (the United States), the SOEP (Germany), and the LINDA (Sweden) are exceptional examples ofthe long-term panel. See Cross-National Equivalent File (CNEF) for details. Regarding those persons of age
50 and above, the HRS (the United States), the SHARE (Europe), the ELSA (the United Kingdom), and theJSTAR (Japan) are available as the longitudinal panel.
8
In recent years, panel surveys have been conducted in Japan by the government, universities etc., but for22

Several empirical studies have already done 9 and we have high hopes that our data
set from this survey will be widely utilized in future with the latest quantitative
analysis methods. We have made our data set available to researchers and graduate
students, both in Japan and overseas, to share it as an intellectual asset for theacademic community.
Since this survey was limited to those who had kept their Social Security
Statements, we first conducted a screening survey to determine whether or not
potential respondents had kept their Social Security Statements. Aside from thosereaching milestone ages (35, 45, and 58 years of age), the version of the Social
Security Statement containing highly detailed information was sent out only once, in2009. Despite the fact that at the time this survey was conducted, 18 to 30 months
had passed since the issue of the 2009 Social Security Statement, around two-thirdsof the people in question had kept their Social Security Statement. The 2009 Social
Security Statement was originally sent out to confirm all the contents of individuals’
detailed records; however, even after this confirmation was complete, many people
kept it. We judged that this was because the Social Security Statement was a simple
summary of past employment history, enabling people to look back over their own
life history so far, but which also indicated their estimated amount of old-age pension
benefits: essential in planning for life after retirement. Although the impression
remains that the main purpose of the Social Security Statement is simply to confirm
individual records, it also plays a significant role as a basic source of information inplanning for retirement. In future, we hope that its content might be redesigned with
an emphasis on the latter role.
Furthermore, the Social Security Statement contains extremely valuable
information from the perspective of those conducting economic analyses, since thecontents of the Social Security Statement represent administrative (governmental)
data. While complete and full disclosure of individuals’ data is not easy to achieve, itwill be nearly impossible to identify individuals if the names of employers etc. aremasked. In Japan, following the amendment of the Statistics Act, new mechanisms
are now being established to process survey data marking individuals into an
anonymous format before provision to researchers. The authors strongly hope thatthose born in the 1950s, panel data on their younger years has never before been obtained. Even the Japan
Panel Survey of Consumers (Institute for Research on Household Economics), which was a comparatively
early panel survey, only commenced in 1993. Our survey, which presents panel data for the employment
situation and wage situation during the 1970s, should also prove invaluable for analyzing the employment
behavior in their younger years of currently middle-aged and elderly persons.
9
For example, since the wages profile for Category 2 insured persons has been accurately surveyed, there
are already researchers undertaking detailed analysis of differences in the job change situation, wages profile(lifetime wages), “Bad Start, Bad Finish” issues between generations, income disparities, life satisfaction,intergenerational transmission of poverty, etc.. See Fujii (2013), Inagaki (2012, 2013), Iwamoto-Hori (2012),
Kambayashi (2012), Oshio-Fujii-Umeda (2012), Oshio-Umeda-Fujii (2013), Oshio-Inagaki (2013, 2015),
Shiraishi-Fujii-Takayama (2013), Takayama-Shiraishi (2012), and Takayama (2015).
23

these same mechanisms will also be able to process administrative data intoanonymous data for provision to researchers.
Finally, although this survey examined respondents drawn from those registered asmonitors with an Internet survey company, in order to avoid the sample selection bias
particular to Internet surveys, it would be worth attempting to conduct interview
surveys and/or mail-in surveys using standard random sampling methods. Under thecurrent system, the Social Security Statement is sent to all covered persons on theirbirthday every year. Utilizing this characteristic, we could narrow down the sample tothose attaining milestone ages (35, 45, and 58 years), who are sent the detailed
version of the Social Security Statement, and conduct random sampling against the
Basic Residents’ Register etc. Aligning the survey date with respondents’ birthdays
would enable us to begin targeting potential respondents who are not in the habit of
keeping their Social Security Statements. However, interview surveys and mail-in
surveys possess their own particular, unavoidable forms of sample selection bias.
Whichever methods are used, sample selection bias must be sufficiently consideredwhen addressing the results obtained.

24

References*Actuarial Affairs Division, Pension Bureau, Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labour(2010). The 2009 Actuarial Valuation of the Employees’ Pension Insurance and the
National Pension, Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labour.
*Actuarial Working Group, Social Security Council (2009), Financial Report on theSocial Security Pension System - Fiscal Year 2007, Actuarial Working Group,
Social Security Council.
Cross-National Equivalent File (CNEF), available on the website below:
http://www.rau.edu.uy/fcs/banco/DATA%20CENTER/crossnational_equivalent_fi
le.htm* Fujii, M. (2013), “Preliminary Analysis on the Intergenerational Transmission of
Poverty in Japan,” Aging and Pension Investment, 32(2), pp.38-45.
*Inagaki, S. (2012), “Income Disparities and Behavior of People Born in 1950s:
Outline and Analysis of Internet Survey on the Individual Records of RegularPension Coverage Notice,” Japanese Journal of The Japan Statistical Society,Vol.41, No.2, pp.285–317.
*Inagaki, S. (2013), “Income Disparities and Behavior of People Born in 1940s:
Analysis Using the Panel Data from the 2012 Japanese Longitudinal Survey on
Employment and Fertility (LOSEF),” Aging and Pension Investment, 32(2),pp.19-25.
*Iwamoto, K. and Hori, M. (2012), “Erosion in Japan’s Seniority Wages and Lifetime
Income,” Aging and Pension Investment, 31(3), pp.61-70.
*The Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training (2005), “Are Internet Surveys
Useful in Social Research? Results of an Experimental Survey,” Japan Labor
Review, No. 17.
*Japan Pension Service (2012), Personal Employment History Table,
http://www.nenkin.go.jp/main/rest/pdf/n1214_05.pdf (13th February 2012)*Kambayashi, R. (2012), “The Job Changes in Japan: the Evidence from Panel Data,”
Aging and Pension Investment, 31(3), pp.71-82.
25

*Kitamura, Y. (2005), Panel Data Analysis, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten.
*Macromill (2011), Macromill Net Research Monitor Numbers, as of 4th August
2011, http://www.macromill.com/monitor_info/pdf/20110301web.pdf*Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication (2009), 2007 Employment Status
Survey, Japan Statistical Association.
*Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication (2011a), “Overview of 2010
Communications Usage Trend Survey: Household edition,” available on thewebsite:http://www.soumu.go.jp/johotsusintokei/statistics/pdf/HR201000_001.pdf*Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication (2011b), 2010 Japan Population
Census: Preliminary Extracts (Education), available on the website:
http://www.e-stat.go.jp/SG1/estat/List.do?bid=000001032402&cycode=0*Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication (2012), 2010 Japan Population
Census: Basic Results (sex, age, marital status, household structure, living
circumstances, etc.),
http://www.e-stat.go.jp/SG1/estat/List.do?bid=000001034991&cycode=0
Oshio, T., Fujii, M. and Umeda, M. (2012), “The Association between Income
Dynamics and Life Satisfaction: Evidence from Career Income Records in Japan,”Aging and Pension Investment, 31(3), pp.83-90.
Oshio, T., Umeda, M. and Fujii, M. (2013), “The Association of Life Satisfaction and
Self-rated Health with Income Dynamics among Male Employees in Japan,”Japan and the World Economy, 28, pp.143-150.
*Oshio, T. and Inagaki, S. (2013), “Does Initial Job Status Affect Midlife Outcomes?
Evidence from a Survey in Japan,” Economic Review, 64(4), pp.289-302.
Oshio, T. and Inagaki, S. (2015), “The Direct and Indirect Effects of Initial Job Status
on Midlife Psychological Distress in Japan: Evidence from a Mediation Analysis,”
Industrial Health, 53, pp.311-321.
* Shiraishi, K., Fujii, M. and Takayama, N. (2013), “Reconsidering Early Job
Separation in Japan: A Case of Male Workers Starting the First Job as Regular26

Employees,” Aging and Pension Investment, 32(2), pp.4-18.
*Takayama, N. (2010). Pensions and Child Allowance, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten.
*Takayama, N. and Shiraishi, K. (2012), “Some Empirical Findings on “Bad Start,
Bad Finish” Issues in Japan,” Aging and Pension Investment, 31(3), pp.29-60.
*Takayama, N. (2015), “The Living Conditions of the Category-3 Pension Insurers inJapan: a Panel Data Analysis,” Japanese Pension Review, 1, pp.3-31.
*in Japanese

27

28

Appendices

Appendix A

Layout Form of Panel Data from the 2011 LOSEF Internet
VersionAppendix B

Layout Form of Raw Data after Data Merged

Appendix C

Brief Outline of Social Security Pension System in Japan

29

Appendix A
Layout Form of Panel Data from the 2011 LOSEF Internet Version
Survey Item

Question

No. of

Code

Category

Survey YearN

Column1

Details and Notes

A

Fiscal 1965～2011（years aged 15 or
more）

Basic Personal Attributes
Sample ID

N

2

B

Sex

2

3

C

Age

N

4

D

Prefecture Code

47

5

E

Regional block

7

8

F

1. Male2. FemaleAge as at the end (31st March) ofsurvey year

1. Male 30’s, 2. Female 30’s,

3.

Male 40’s,
4. Female 40’s, 5. Male 50’s（theSample Type

8

7

G

2010 Survey）,
6. Female 50’s（the 2010 Survey）,
7. Male 50’s（the 2011 Survey）,
8. Female 50’s（the 2011 Survey）

Birth year and month
Birth year (Fiscal year)
Age at initial
employment

q1_1fa

N

8

H

Year

q1_2fa

N

9

I

Month

N

10

J

Birth year

N

11

K

Initial employment status numbered 1
to 10 below. If none, then left empty.
1. Company executive
2. Regular employee
3. Self-employed
4. Part-time worker

Initial employment
status

1012L

5. Casual and temporary worker
6. Dispatched worker
7. Contract worker
8. Entrusted worker
9. Family worker performed at home
10. Other30

1. Junior high school, 2. Senior highschool, 3.Vocational school, 4. Junior
Final level of
educational attainment

q20

6

13

M

college/technical college,
5. Undergraduate University, 6.
Postgraduate University,
7. Otherq2_1fa

N

14

N

Year

q2_2fa

N

15

O

Month

q2_3fa

N

16

P

Date

q3_1faN

17

Q

Number of

q3_2faN

18

R

National Pension: Category 3

membership months to

q3_3faN

19

S

Subtotal of National Pension

date

q3_4fa

N

20

T

KNH

q3_5faN

21

U

Seamen’s Insurance

q3_6faN

22

V

Total (excluding unpaid periods)

q4_1faN

23

W

Old-age Basic Pension

Date of the last updateof Social Security
Statement

National Pension: Category 1(excluding unpaid periods)

Earnings-related pension of KNH
Estimated annual

q4_2faN

24

X

portion)amount of pension
benefit at age 65(excluding the KNK’s contracted-out

q4_3faN

25

Y

q4_4faN

26

Z

Accumulated amountq5_1faN

27

AA

Category 1of contributions

q5_2faN

28

AB

Category 2（employee portion only）

already made

q5_3fa

N

29

AC

Total

q6_1faN

30

AD

Category 1

q6_2faN

31

AE

Total number of
unpaid months

Transitional additional benefits of KNH
Combined total (excluding the KNK’scontracted-out portion)

Total number ofmonths covered by the
KNK
Number of job changes
to dateCount=1 each time a Category 2 person
N

32

AF

entered in or left his/her company. (0 if
not covered at all by KNH)

Situations as at April Each Year31

1. Category 1
Category of insured
persons

433

AG

2. Category 2
3. Category 3 (only 1986 or later)
4. Not covered nor any record

Pensionable
remunerations

N

34

AH

Category 2 only

N

35

AI

Converted to 2011 values

Pensionable
remunerations after
revaluation
National Pension （excluding category
2 persons）
1. Contribution completed
2. Contribution unpaid
3. Category 3：

Since 1986

4. Fully exempt
5. Half exempt： Since 2002

Payment record andexemptions in National

13

36

AJ

Pension

6. Half unpaid：

Since 2002

7. 3／4 exempt： Since 2007
8. 3／4 unpaid：

Since 2007

9. 1／4 exempt： Since 2007
10. 1／4 unpaid：

Since 2007

11. Special arrangement for Students：
Since 2000
12. Additional contribution
13. Unknown
1. Company executive
2. Regular employee
3. Self-employed
4. Part-time worker
Employment status

14

37

AK

5. Casual and temporary worker
6. Dispatched worker
7. Contract worker
8. Entrusted worker
9. Family worker performed at home32

10. Other
11. Not in paid employment, seeking
employment
12. Not in paid employment, notseeking employment（e.g., helping withhouse work）
13. Not in paid employment, engaging
in full-time house work
14. Student

1. single, 2. married (includes
Marital status

4

38

AL

common-law marriage),
3. divorced/separated, 4. widowed
Living at family home or children

Number of children

N

39

AM

living separately while attending school
who are being sent allowances
1. Not residing with any parents
2. Residing with own parent(s)Residence with parents

4

40

AN

3. Residing with spouse’s parent(s)4. Residing with both own and spouse’s
parent(s)1. Company executive
2. Regular employee
3. Self-employed
4. Part-time worker
5. Casual and temporary worker
6. Dispatched worker
7. Contract worker
8. Entrusted worker

Employment status of
spouse

14

41

AO

9. Family worker performed at home
10. Other
11. Not in paid employment, seeking
employment
12. Not in paid employment, notseeking employment（e.g., helping withhouse work）
13. Not in paid employment, engaging
in full-time house work
14. Student

33

1. Kei-hin (Tokyo-Yokohama), 2.
Residence Area

4

42

AP

Chukyo (Nagoya),
3. Kei-han-shin (Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe),
4. Other
ID number for companies employing

Employer ID

N

43

AQ

the respondent as Category 2 person.
Each is numbered from 1 to 10 fromthe first company.
1. Less than 5 employees 2. 5–29, 3.
30–99, 4. 100–299,

Size of Company

5. 300–499, 6. 500–999, 7. 1000–4999,
8. 5000 +1. Agriculture, forestry and fishery, 2.
Construction,
3. Manufacturing, 4. Information andcommunications,5. Transportation and delivery
6. Wholesale and retail trade, 7.
Finance and insurance,

Industry of employer

8. Real estate, 9. Scientific research,
10. Accommodation, food andbeverage services,
11. Amusement and leisure, 12.
Education,
13. Healthcare and welfare, 14. Other

Important Life Events in Each Fiscal Year
New or renewed entry
or notOrder of employer

2

46

AT

N

47

AU

As a Category 2 person
Numbered from 1 to 10 in order of
employment history.
1. Less than 5 employees, 2. 5–29, 3.

Size of employer

8

48

AV

30–99, 4. 100–299,
5. 300–499, 6. 500–999, 7. 1000–4999,
8. 5000+
1. Agriculture, forestry and fishery, 2.

Industry of employer

Construction,34

3. Manufacturing, 4. Information andcommunications,5. Transportation and delivery
6. Wholesale and retail trade, 7.
Finance and insurance,
8. Real estate, 9. Scientific research,
10. Accommodation, food andbeverage services,
11. Amusement and leisure, 12.
Education,
13. Healthcare and welfare, 14. Other
1. Professional/technical, 2.
Management,
3. Office work, 4. Sales work, 5.
Service work,

Type of work

6. Security work, 7.
Transport/communication,
8. Production/manufacturing/field
work, 9. Unknown
1. Regular employee
2. Contract worker
3. Entrusted worker
4. Seconded employee

Employment status

5. Dispatched worker
6. Temporary worker
7. Part-time worker
8. Other
1. Permanent (no stated limit), 2. 1 to 5
years,

Length of contract

3. 1 month to 12 months 4. Shorter
than 1 month
1. Public job training school attended.
2. Vocational training school/seminars
and/or a correspondence course taken

Public job training orat own expense.

vocational training

3. Vocational training school, seminars

before changing

and/or correspondence course taken atcompany

former (or new) company’s expense.
4. Not any.

35

Left employment or
not

2

54

BB

Whether or not ceased being a
Category 2 person
1. Bankruptcy, layoff, voluntary
redundancy
2. Mandatory retirement or transferred
to an affiliated company (includes
being re-employed as an entrusted
employee)

Reasons for leaving

3. Ordinary dismissal

employment

4. Termination of contract period(includes seasonal work)
5. Marriage, child-birth, child-raising
6. Caregiving for elderly parents
7. Other (including own preference)
Period of continuously
employed months just

N

56

BD

Married or not

2

57

BE

Divorced or not

2

58

BF

2

59

BG

Number of months

before leaving

Bereavement (spouse)or not1=Married during the relevant year,
empty=Not married
1=Divorced during the relevant year,
empty=No divorced
1=Bereavement during the relevant year,
empty=No bereavement
Labeled with birth order number inChildbirth or not

2

60

BH

case of childbirth, left empty if nochildbirth. (in case of a male
respondent, childbirth for his wife)

Notes:
1. Missing values are left empty.
2. Age is calculated at the end (31st March) of the relevant fiscal year. Accordingly, unless students delayed
entry or were kept back, graduation age is 16 years for junior high school, 19 years for senior high school,and 23 years for university undergraduates.
3. The data covers 5,953 respondents, and includes 182,137 responses.
4. Occurrence of marriage, divorce, or spousal bereavement was established by comparing marital status foreach fiscal year with the next fiscal year.
5. In cases where a person repeatedly entered employment or left employment (employees’ pension) twice ormore during the same year, the data reflects
only the initial entering or leaving employment.
6. Data on job changes/leaving employment is missing for those persons aged 50 years or over who weresurveyed in 2010.
36

Appendix B
Layout Form of Raw Data after Data Merged
Questions

Item

ColumnDetails and Notes

Sample ID

1

A

Sample ID

Sex

2

B

1. MaleAge

3C

Age as at the 31st March 2012

4

D

Prefecture

5

E

Area

Prefecture
Code
Area Code

2. Female

1. Male 30’s, 2. Female 30’s, 3. Male
40’s,
4. Female 40’s, 5. Male 50’s（the 2010
Sample type

cid

6

F

Survey）,
6. Female 50’s（the 2010 Survey）,
7. Male 50’s（the 2011 Survey）,
8. Female 50’s（the 2011 Survey）

q1_1fa7

GYear

q1_2fa

8

H

Month

q2_1fa9IYearq2_2fa

10

J

Month

q2_3fa

11

K

Date

q3_1fa12L

q3_2fa13

M

National Pension: Category 3

q3_3fa14

N

Subtotal of National Pension

q3_4fa15

O

KNH

q3_5fa16

P

Seamen’s Insurance

q3_6fa17

Q

Total (excluding unpaid periods)

q4_1fa18

R

Old-age Basic Pension

Birth year and month

Date of the last update ofSocial Security Statement

Number of membershipmonths to date

National Pension: Category 1 (excluding
unpaid periods)

Earnings-related pension of KNH
Estimated annual amountq4_2fa19

S

portion)of pension benefits at age
65(excluding the KNK’s contracted-out

q4_3fa20

T

q4_4fa21

U

37

Transitional additional benefits of KNH
Combined total (excluding the KNK’scontracted-out portion)q5_1fa

22

V

Category 1

q5_2fa23

W

Category 2 (employee portion only)

q5_3fa

24

X

Total

q6_1fa25

Y

Category 1

q6_2fa26Z

q10_1fa

27

AA

Date of entry: Era (Era: Japanese Year)q10_2fa

28

AB

Date of entry: Yearq10_3fa29

AC

Date of entry: Month

The first enrolment as aq10_4fa30

AD

Date of entry: Date

KNH Category 2 person

q10_5fa

31

AE

Date of exit: Era

q10_6fa

32

AF

Date of exit: Yearq10_7fa

33

AG

Date of exit: Monthq10_8fa

34

AH

Date of exit: Date

The 2nd to 10th enrolments

q10_9fa

35AI

as a KNH Category 2

|

|

|

personq10_80fa

106

DB

Size of company:

q11_1fa

107

DC

Accumulated amount of
paid contributions
Total number of unpaid
monthsTotal number of months
covered by the KNK

op. cit.

1. Less than 5 employees
2. 5–29

The 1st to 10th companies

|

|

|

3. 30–99
4. 100–299
5. 300–499

q11_19fa

116

DL

6. 500–999
7. 1000–4999
8. 5000+

Industry of employer:
The 1st to 10th companies

q11_2fa

117

DM

|

|

|

1. Agriculture, forestry and fishery
2. Construction
3. Manufacturing
4. Information and communications
5. Transportation or delivery activities
6. Wholesale and retail trade
7. Finance and insurance

q11_20fa

126

DV

8. Real estate
9. Scientific research
10. Accommodation, food and beverage
services
11. Amusement and leisure38

12. Education
13. Healthcare and welfare
14. OtherType of work
The 1st to 10th companies

q12_1fa

127

DW

|

|

|

1. Professional/technical
2. Management
3. Office work
4. Sales work
5. Services work

q12_37fa

136

EF

6. Security work
7. Transport/communication
8. Production/manufacturing/field work
9. Unknown
1. Regular employee

Employment status
The 1st to 10th companies

q12_2fa

137

EG

|

|

|

2. Contract worker
3. Entrusted worker
4. Seconded employee
5. Dispatched worker

q12_38fa

146

EP

6. Casual or temporary worker
7. Part-time worker
8. Other

Length of contract
The 1st to 10th companies

q12_3fa

147

EQ

1. Permanent (no stated limit)

|

|

|

2. 1 to 5 years

q12_39fa

156

EZ

3. 1 to 12 months
4. Shorter than 1 month

Did you participate in

1. Public job training school attended

public job training in order

2. Vocational training school/seminars

to get a job at the

q12_4fa157

FA

and/or a correspondence course taken atcompany/change job to theown expense

company?

3. Vocational training school/seminars

The 1st to 10th companies

|

|

|

q12_40fa

166

FJ

and/or a correspondence course taken atformer (or new) company’s expense

39

4. Not any

1. Bankruptcy, layoff, voluntary redundancy
Reasons for leaving
employment
The 1st to 10th companies

q13_1fa

167

FK

2. Mandatory retirement or transferred to anaffiliated company (includes being

|

|

|

re-employed as an entrusted employee)
3. Ordinary dismissal
4. Termination of contract period (includes
seasonal work)

q13_10fa

176

FT

5. Marriage, childbirth, child-raising
6. Caregiving for elderly parents
7. Other (including own preference)

Pension System Enrolment, Employment and Family Formation since 1965
Pension System enrolled as
at April of each year:
1965 ～ 2011
（for 47 years）

q7_1

177

FU

1. KNH|||

2. National Pension

q7_47

223

HO

3. No record

q8_1

224

HP

Pensionable remunerationsas at April of each year
while enrolled in the KNH
1965 ～ 2011
（for 47 years）

Monthly amount
|

|

|

q8_47

270

JJ

Payment record andexemptions in National
Pension as at April of each

1. Contribution completed
q9_1

271

JK

year
1965 ～ 2011
（for 47 years）

2. Contribution unpaid
3. Category 3：Since 1986
4. Fully exempt

|

|

|

5. Half exempt：Since 2002
6. Half unpaid： Since 2002
7. 3／4 exempt：Since 2007
8. 3／4 unpaid：Since 2007
9. 1／4 exempt：Since 2007

q9_47

317

LE

10. 1／4 unpaid：Since 2007
11. Special arrangement for students：
Since 2000
12. Additional contribution
13. Unknown40

1. Company executive
2. Regular employee
q14_1

318

LF

Employment status as at

3. Self-employed
4. Part-time worker

April of each year
1965 ～ 2011

5. Casual or temporary worker（for 47 years）

6. Dispatched worker|||

7. Contract worker
8. Entrusted worker
9. Family worker performing work at
home
10. Other
11. Not in paid employment, seeking
employment

q14_93364

MZ

12. Not in paid employment, not seeking
employment（e.g., helping with housework）
13. Not in paid employment, engaging infull-time house work
14. Student

Employment status as at

q14_2

365

NA

|

|

|

q14_94

411

OU

q15_2

412

OV

|

|

|

q15_93

458

QP

q15_1

459

QQ

|

|

|

q15_94505

SKbeing supported by an allowance

q16_1

506

SL

1. Not residing with any parent

|

|

|

2. Residing only with own parent(s)April of each year:
Other-Specific contents
1965 ～ 2011
（for 47 years）
Marital status as at April ofeach year
1965 ～ 2011
（for 47 years）
Number of children as at
April of each year
1965 ～ 2011
（for 47 years）
Residence with parents
1965 ～ 2011
（for 47 years）

Specific contents

1=single, 2=married (includes common-law
marriage),
3= divorced/separated, 4=widowed

Children either living at family home orliving separately to attend school while

3. Residing only with spouse’s parent(s)q16_47552

UF

4. Residing with both own and spouse’s
parent(s)41Employment status of

1. Company executive

spouse as at April of eachyear.

2. Regular employee
q17_1

553

UG

3. Self-employed
4. Part-time worker
5. Casual or temporary worker
6. Dispatched worker

|

|

|

7. Contract worker
8. Entrusted worker
9. Family worker performing work at
home
10. Other
11. Not in paid employment, seeking
employment

1965 ～ 2011
（for 47 years）

12. Not in paid employment, not seeking
q17_93599

WA

employment（e.g., helping with housework）
13. Not in paid employment, engaging infull-time house work
14. Student

Employment status of the

q17_2

600

WB

|

|

|

q17_94

646

XV

647

XW

spouse as at April of eachyear: Other-specificcontents
1965 ～ 2011
（for 47 years）
Residential area as at Aprilof each year (not necessary

1. Kei-hin (Tokyo-Yokohama)

to answer for the period
before you enrolled in any

Specific contents

q129_1||

2. Chūkyō (Nagoya)
3. Kei-han-shin (Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe)

pension system)

4. Others

1965 ～ 2011693

（for 47 years）

ZQ

Questionnaires on Family Members
1. Married (includes remarriage andcommon-law marriage)
Current marital statusq18

2. Cohabiting694

3. Divorced
4. Separated
5. Widowed42

6. Single
Note: Living separately due to job
assignments is considered as “married”

1. Company executive
2. Regular employee
3. Self-employed
4. Part-time worker
5. Casual or temporary worker
6. Dispatched worker
7. Contract worker
8. Entrusted worker
9. Family worker performing work at
Current employment status

q19

home

695

10. Other
11. Not in paid employment, seeking
employment
12. Not in paid employment, not seeking
employment（e.g., helping with housework）
13. Not in paid employment, engaging infull-time house work
14. Student
Current employment status:
Other-specific contents

q19_10_1fa

696

Specific contents
1. Junior high school
2. Senior high school
3. Vocational school

Final level of educationalq20

4. Junior college/technical college697

5. University undergraduate

attainment

6. University postgraduate
7. Otherq20_7_1fa

698

Other-specific contents
Including spouses living separately due to

Number of household
membersq21_1fa

job assignments, and children living

699

separately to attend school while being
supported by an allowance43

Spouse (including common-law marriage,

q22_1

700

q22_2

701

Child(ren)

q22_3

702

Spouse(s) of child(ren)

q22_4

703

Grandchild(ren)

q22_5

704

Own parent(s)

q22_6

705

Spouse’s parent(s)

q22_7

706

Grandparent(s)

q22_8

707

Sister(s)/brother(s)

q22_9

708

Other (e.g., cohabiting partner)

q23_1fa709

q23_3fa710

q23_5fa711

q23_7fa712

q23_2fa

713

Own father

q23_4fa

714

Own Motherq23_6fa

715

Spouse’s father

q23_8fa

716

Spouse’s motherBirth year and month of

q24_1fa717

Year

spouse/partner

q24_2fa

718

Month

Family relationship ofhousehold members livingin the same family home

excluding cohabiting partner)

Own father （Living together/ Living
separately/ Deceased）
Own mother （Living together/ Living
separately/ Deceased）

Residence with parents

Spouse’s father （Living together/ Living
separately/ Deceased)
Spouse’s mother （Living together/ Living
separately/ Deceased）

Age of parents

1. Junior high school
2. Senior high school
3. Vocational school
Final level of educationalq25

4. Junior college/technical college719

5. University undergraduate

attainment of spouse

6. University postgraduate
7. Otherq25_7_1fa

720

q26

721

employment? If so, how

q26_1_1fa

722

Working hours per day

many hours a week does

q26_1_2fa

723

Working hours per week

Is your spouse/partner

Other-specific contents
1. In paid employment
employment

currently in paid

44

2. Not in paid

he/she work?

Reasons for remaining

Working weeks per year (There are 52

q26_1_3fa724q27_1fa

725

Type of job

q28_1

726

Too young to marry (remarry)

q28_2

727

Too old to marry (remarry)

q28_3

728

Not feeling the need to marry (remarry) yet

q28_4

729

Wanting to focus on career (studies) now

q28_5

730

Wanting to enjoy hobbies and leisure time

q28_6

731

q28_7

732

q28_8

733

q28_9

734

q28_10735

q28_11736

weeks in a year)

Not wanting to lose the freedom of being
singleNot having met the right person yet
Not good at having relationships with the
opposite sex
Income is too low

single/not remarried

Not having enough funds to get married(remarried)Not having any housing suitable for acoupleYour parents, friends, or others are

q28_12

737(probably) against you marrying(remarrying)
You are concerned about possibly

q28_13738

emotionally hurting your spouse if you
marry

q28_14739

Other
1. Almost every day

How often do you cook
dinner?

q29

2. 5-6 days a week740

3. 3-4 days a week
4. Almost neverWhere do you usually getfood when you prepare/eat
dinner?

q30_1

741

Supermarket, grocery store

q30_2

742

Convenience store

q30_3

743

q30_4

744

Restaurant, company cafeteria

q30_5

745

Delivery

q30_6

746

Other

q30_6_1fa

747

Other: Specific place

Ready-made/prepared food store or foodfloor in a department store

45q31_1

748

Going to concerts and movies

q31_2

749

Watching sports (e.g., baseball, soccer)

q31_3

750

Playing sports

participate in the activities

q31_4

751

Artistic/musical activities

listed ?

q31_5

752

Meeting friends and relatives

q31_6

753

Volunteer work

q31_7

754

Studying for qualifications/licenses

q31_8

755

Reading books

q31_9

756

Reading newspapers

q31_10757

Using computer (other than for work)

How often do you

1. Every day
2. More than once a week
3. More than once a month
4. Sometimes
5. Not interested

Browsing or writing using an SNS (social
q31_11

758

networking service) such as Facebook or
twitter.

How much do you use

q32_1

759

【non-work days】Mobile phone

these

q32_2

760

【non-work days】iPad/iPod

q32_3

761

【non-work days】Personal computer

q32_4

762

【non-work days】Television

q32_5

763

【non-work days】Radio

1. None

q32_6

764

【work days】Mobile phone

2. 0-30 min.

q32_7

765

【work days】iPad/iPod

3. 30 min. - 1 hour

q32_8

766

【work days】Personal computer

4. 1-2 hours

q32_9

767

【work days】Televisionq32_10768【work days】Radio

information/communication
devices each day, otherthan for paid work?

5. 2-3 hours
6. 3-4 hours
7. Over 4 hours

Questionnaires for Atypical Employees
q33_1

769

Wanting to have more time for yourself
You want to keep receiving marital tax

q33_2

770

deduction, or to remain as a Category 3
insured person in the pension system

Main reason for current
work as an atypicalemployee

q33_3

771

Child-raising

q33_4

772

Acting as caregiver for family member(s)

q33_5

773

For reasons of your own health

q33_6

774

q33_7

775

Not being able to find a job as a regular
employee
Not wanting to have heavy responsibilities46q33_8776

Participating in volunteer or other activities

q33_9

777

Studying for a qualification/license

q33_10778

q33_11779

No specific reasonsq33_12780

Other

q33_12_1fa

781

Other: Specific contents

Working temporarily at current job due toinability to find more desirable work

1. Agriculture, forestry and fishery
2. Construction
3. Manufacturing
4. Information and communications
5. Transportation or delivery activities
6. Wholesale and retail trade
7. Finance and insurance
Industry of employer

q34

8. Real estate782

9. Scientific research
10. Accommodation, food and beverage
services
11. Amusement and leisure
12. Education
13. Healthcare and welfare
14. Other
1. Less than 5 employees
2. 5–29
3. 30–99
Size of company you
currently work for

q35

4. 100–299

783

5. 300–499
6. 500–999
7. 1000–4999
8. 5000+

q36_1

Non-regular employees may work in the784place of regular employees.
Jobs that were previously the responsibility

How is work shared

q36_2

785

of regular employees are now the

between regular andresponsibility of non-regular employees.

non-regular employees atyour workplace?

Regular employees’ jobs and non-regular

q36_3

786

q36_4

787

No non-regular employees at workplace

q36_5

788

Other

employees’ jobs are clearly separated.

47q36_5_1fa

789

Other: Specific contentsChildcare Leave
Is there childcare leave at
your workplace?

q37

790

1. Yesq38

2. You would like to do so in the future791

3. You have never taken childcare leave andlike to do so in the future?

do not intend to do so in the future
q39_1

792

1. Increases the burden on other employees

q39_2

793

q39_3

794

q39_4

795

q39_5

796

q39_6

797

6. Otherq39_6_1fa

798

Other: Specific contents

q126

799

q40

800

2. Hinders the user from advancing his/hercareer
3. Significant decrease in the wages of theuser

Problems in using support
systems which promote thebalancing of childcare andwork

Is there childcare leave at
your spouse’s workplace?

3. Unknown

1. You have taken childcare leave

Have you ever taken
childcare leave? Would you

2. No

4. Hard to gain the boss’s understanding
5. Many assignments do not work well withthose systems

Among the above, the biggest problem is →[No.
1. Yes]
2. No

3. Unknown

1. Your spouse has taken childcare leave
2. Your spouse would like to take it in theHas your spouse ever taken
childcare leave? Does
he/she intend to do so in theq41

future801

3. Your spouse has never taken childcare
leave and does not intend to do so in the

future?

futurePlanning for Future Paid Work
Getting promoted within 2 years (including

q42_1

802

q42_2

803

q42_3

804

Changing jobs within 2 years

What has happened at your

q43_1

805

Some persons were dismissed

workplace within the past 3

q43_2

806

Some persons resigned voluntarily

q43_3

807

Some non-regular employees werebeing promoted to a regular employee)

Future prospects for youremployment

Getting fired from your current job within 2
years

years?
Yes

or No

48

promoted to regular employees
1. You want to continue your current job.
2. You want to get another job in addition to

Do you want to continue
working at your current

q44

your current job.

808

3. You want to change to a different job.

job?

4. You want to quit working altogether.
1. Regular employee
2. Part-time, temporary employee
3. Dispatched or contract worker
What employment statusq45

4. You want to start your own business809

5. You want to take over the family

would you prefer?

business
6. Side job
7. Otherq45_7_1fa

810

q46_1

811

q46_2

812

Other: Specific contents
Because your current job was undertaken asa temporary job
Because your current income is low
Because your employer’s business is in bad

q46_3

813

shape, or you are concerned about its future
prospects

Possible reasons for your

Because you don’t get along with the people

q46_4

814

q46_5

815

q46_6

816

q46_7

817

q46_8

818

q46_9

819

q46_10820Childraisingq46_11821

Caregiving for family members

q46_12822

Otherq46_12_1fa

823

Other: Specific contents

at work
Because your current job doesn’t suit you
Because your current employment contract
will end soon

job change(Multiple answers allowed)

Because it consumes too much physicalenergy/time
Because you want to make more use of yourknowledge or skills
Because you want to increase your leisure
time

49

Do you think the number of
employees of your employer

1. Increase
q47

824

2. Decrease

will increase in the next 2 years?

3. No change
1. Professional/technical
2. Management
3. Office work
4. Sales work

Current job type

q48

5. Services work825

6. Security work
7. Transport/communication
8. Production/manufacturing/field work
9. Unknown
Hours per week including

q49

826

1．Hoursq49_1_1fa

827

Specific hours, if known

2．Unknown

paid work, unpaid work,and overtime.

1. Very likely
2. Likely

How likely is it that you
will lose your job within

q50

3. Unlikely

828

4. Very unlikely

the next 2 years?

5. Unknown
You can’t participate in housework because
q51_1

829

you spend a lot of time fulfilling your duties

In balancing work andat paid work

family, to what extent have

You’re often too stressed out when you

you felt the following?

q51_2

830

come home from paid work to do anythingfor your family

1. Not at all
2. A little

q51_3

Your duties to your family often interfere831with your paid work

3. Undecided
4. Moderately

You often can’t stop thinking about your
q51_4

832

family at paid work because you are

5. Extremelystressed at homeq51_5

Your spouse often fails to cooperate with833

you at housework

Data on Children
q52_1fa

834

Children who live in your family homeq52_2fa

835

Children who live separately

q53_1

836

1st child

q53_2

837

2nd child

Number of children
Sex of your @th child50

1. Male

q53_3

838

3rd child

2. Female

q53_4

839

4th child

q53_5

840

5th child

q53_6

841

6th child

q53_7

842

7th child

q53_8

843

8th child

q53_9

844

9th childq53_10845

10th childq54_1fa846

1st child [FA] Yearq54_2fa847

1st child [FA] Monthq54_3fa

848

2nd child [FA] Yearq54_4fa849

2nd child [FA] Monthq54_5fa

850

3rd child [FA] Yearq54_6fa

851

3rd child [FA] Monthq54_7fa852

4th child [FA] Yearq54_8fa

853

4th child [FA] Monthq54_9fa854

5th child [FA] Year

Birth year and month ofq54_10fa

855

5th child [FA] Month

your @th childq54_11fa

856

6th child [FA] Yearq54_12fa

857

6th child [FA] Monthq54_13fa

858

7th child [FA] Yearq54_14fa

859

7th child [FA] Monthq54_15fa

860

8th child [FA] Yearq54_16fa

861

8th child [FA] Monthq54_17fa

862

9th child [FA] Yearq54_18fa

863

9th child [FA] Monthq54_19fa

864

10th child [FA] Yearq54_20fa

865

10th child [FA] Monthq55_1fa866

1st childq55_2fa

867

2nd child

1. Living at your family

q55_3fa868

3rd childhomeq55_4fa

869

4th child

2. Living separately (withq55_5fa

870

5th childallowance)q55_6fa

871

6th childq55_7fa872

7th child

Residence of children

3. Living separately

51

(without allowance)q55_8fa873

8th childq55_9fa874

9th childq55_10fa

875

10th childq56_1fa876

1st childq56_2fa877

2nd child

1. Under elementary schoolq56_3fa878

3rd childage (including thoseq56_4fa879

4th childq56_5fa

880

5th childq56_6fa

881

6th child(includes elementaryq56_7fa

882

7th childschool, junior high school,

q56_8fa

883

8th childq56_9fa

884

9th childq56_10fa

885

10th childq57_1fa886

1st child

q57_2fa887

2nd child

q57_3fa

888

3rd child

q57_4fa889

4th child

q57_5fa

890

5th childq57_6fa

891

6th childq57_7fa

892

7th childq57_8fa

893

8th childq57_9fa

894

9th child

What does your @th childcurrently do?

attending nursery or
kindergarten)
2. Attending school

senior high school, juniorcollege, vocational school,
university, prep. school)
3．Employed (including
full-time, part-time, orother non-regular
employment)
4. Other
Which of the following
educational/childcare
facilities does your @thchild attend or has last beenin?
1. Not yet attending nurseryor kindergarten
2. Nursery
3. Kindergarten
4. Elementary school
5. Junior high school
6. Senior high school(public)
7. Senior high school(private/national)
8. Vocational school(special training course,52requiring junior high school
diploma)
9. Vocational school(advanced course, requiring
senior high school degree)
10. Junior college/advanced

q57_10fa

895

10th childtechnical college
11. University
12. Graduate school
13. Other
School fees (course fee, school meals,
q58_1fa

896

material fee, PTA fee, facility maintenancefee, tuition, etc.), excluding kindergarten
Educational costs outside of school: for

q58_2faexample, private preparatory school, tutors,

897

How much money percorrespondence courses, or English

month does your household

language lessons

spend on the education of

Costs for extracurricular courses or

your children? Pleaseanswer the total for all yourq58_3fa

activities (after school activities), including898

sports clubs (excluding private preparatory

children.

school or English lessons)
Costs for kindergarten, child day-careJPY

q58_4fa899

center or nursery, babysitter, or after-school
child-care center
Allowances for your children (e.g., money

q58_5fasent to children who live separately from

900

your family home to attend school,
excluding tuition)

Were you in paid

q59_1_1

901

q59_1_2

902

q59_1_3

903

q59_1_4

904

q59_1_5905

q59_1_6906

q59_1_7907【child age 0 to under 3】Regular employee【child age 0 to under 3】Part-time,
temporary or dispatched worker【child age 0 to under 3】Self-employed or
freelance

employment in the period
before your child entered【child age 0 to under 3】Not working in apaid jobelementary school?

【child age 0 to under 3】Other【child age 0 to under 3】 No spouse/partnerat that time【child age 3 to elementary school entrance】
53

Regular employee

Did your spouse/partner【child age 3 to elementary school entrance】

q59_1_8

908q59_1_9909

q59_1_10

910

q59_1_11

911

q59_1_12912

q59_2_1

913

q59_2_2

914

q59_2_3

915

q59_2_4

916

q59_2_5917

q59_2_6

918

q59_2_7919

q59_2_8920

q59_2_9921

q59_2_10922

q59_2_11923

q59_2_12924

q59_5_1fa925

q_59_1_5 or q59_2_5

q59_11_1fa926

q_59_1_11 or q59_2_11

Part-time, temporary or dispatched worker【child age 3 to elementary school entrance】
Self-employed or freelance【child age 3 to elementary school entrance】
Not working in a paid job【child age 3 to elementary school entrance】
Other【child age 3 to elementary school entrance】
No spouse/partner at that time【child age 0 to under 3】Regular employee【child age 0 to under 3】Part-time,
temporary or dispatched worker【child age 0 to under 3】Self-employed or
freelance【child age 0 to under 3】Not working in apaid job【child age 0 to under 3】Other【child age 0 to under 3】No spouse/partnerat that timeengage in paid employment
in the period before your【child age 3 to elementary school entrance】
Regular employee

child entered elementary
school?

【child age 3 to elementary school entrance】
Part-time, temporary or dispatched worker【child age 3 to elementary school entrance】
Self-employed or freelance【child age 3 to elementary school entrance】
Not working in a paid job【child age 3 to elementary school entrance】
Other【child age 3 to elementary school entrance】
No spouse/partner at that time

Did you or your
spouse/partner engage inpaid employment in the
period before your childentered elementary school?

54

(Other: please specify)

q60_1

927

Spouseq60_2

928

Own grandparent(s)

q60_3

929

Spouse’s grandparent(s)

q60_4

930

Own parent(s)If you become sick or

q60_5

931

Spouse’s parent(s)incapable, who will look

q60_6

932

Relatives

after your children?

q60_7

933

Day care provider on a family basis

q60_8

934

Babysitter

q60_9

935

Friend/acquaintance/neighborq60_10936

Family support center

q60_11937

No one1. Currently, you are trying to have a baby.
2. Currently, you are not trying to have ababy, but you plan to within the next 5

Family planningq61

years.

938

3．Currently, you are not trying to have ababy, and do not plan to have any in future.
4．Other
q62_1

939

You are done having children.

q62_2

940

Your spouse does not want children.

q62_3

941

You want to focus on your job.

q62_4

942

q62_5

943

q62_6

944

q62_7

945

q62_8

946

It’s difficult to balance work andchild-raising.

What are the main reasons
you don’t plan to have a

You don’t want leisure time taken awayfrom you.

baby in the future?

Do you want to have morechildren in the future?

The financial burden (educational andchild-raising costs) is too heavy
Giving child birth and child-raising is
physically too taxing.
Other
1. Yes, absolutely

q63

947

2. Yes, depending on the circumstances
3. No

55

1. Yes, absolutely
q63_1_1fa→ How many (more) children would you

948

like to have?
Number of children:
2. Yes, depending on circumstances

q63_2_1fa→ How many (more) children would you

949

like to have ?
Number of children:
1. You would want to have another child ifyour income increased.
2. You do not want to have any (more)

If your monthly income

q64

children, no matter how much your income

950

increased, would you

increases.

consider having another

3. Your income is unrelated to whether orchild or consider having a

not you will have children.

child for the first time?

q64_1_1fa

951

q64_1_2fa

952

q65_1

953

q65_2

954

q65_3

955

Amount of increased income (JPY in ten
thousand) per monthAmount of increased income (JPY in
thousand) per month
Smoking reduces female fertility
Today, it is as possible for women in their
40s to conceive as those in their 30s.

Opinions about the listed
statements on childbirth

Having had an STD reduces fertility

and pregnancy

Excessive intake of alcohol during
q65_4

956

pregnancy may have negative effects on the

1. Agreefetus.

2. Disagree

Drinking alcohol/smoking during
q65_5

957

pregnancy/breast feeding has a negative
effect on the baby.
[Who should look after infants under 1 year
old?]
1. Infants under 1 year old should be looked

Questions about care ofafter at home by parents or family, since it

infants under 1 year old(Please answer regardlessq66

is expensive to put them in a nursery.

958

2. Infants under 1 year old should be lookedof whether you have a childafter at a nursery if necessary. It is not tooor not. )expensive and the cost does not need to belowered.
3. Infants under 1 year old should be looked
56

after at a nursery if necessary. However, thecost is too expensive and needs to belowered.

Please answer the approximate caring cost
(JPY) for providers you think would beappropriate for a nursery per month.
1. 50,000
2. 100,000
q66_3_1fa

3. 150,000959

4. 200,000
5. 250,000
6. 300,000
7. 350,000
8. 400,000
9. 450,000

Questions on Social Security Policies
q67_1_1

960

q67_1_2

961

Promotion of parental leave

Question about social
security and welfare: Is

Expansion of child allowance, child benefit,
and scholarshipthere a policy you havehigh hopes for?

Re-employment support for women who
q67_1_3962

have left work due to childbirth andchildcare
Expansion of public financial support toq67_1_4

963

q67_1_5964

q67_1_6965

q67_1_7

966

Enhancement of after-school child careq67_1_8

967

Strengthening job support for young people

q67_1_9968

q67_1_10

969

q67_1_11

970

pregnancy and childbirthFree-of-charge children’s healthcare
Expansion of child day-care centers(including day-care for sick children)

Equal treatment of children born outside ofmarriage
Legal acceptance of separate surnames formarried couples
Raising pension benefits57q67_1_12

971

q67_1_13972

q67_1_14973

q67_1_15974

q67_1_16

975

q67_1_17976

q67_2_1

977

q67_2_2

978q67_2_3

979

Reduction of the co-payment of healthcare
for the elderly
Reducing the contributions for long-termcare insurance
Enhancement of the unemployment
insurance system
Enhancement of Workers’ Accident
Compensation Insurance System
Other
You don’t have high hopes for any
measures.
Promotion of parental leave at theworkplace
Expansion of child allowance, childbenefits, and scholarship
Re-employment support for women who
have left work due to childbirth or childcare
Reduction of the cost of pregnancy and

q67_2_4980

childbirth and expansion of public support
grantsq67_2_5981

q67_2_6982

q67_2_7983

q67_2_8984

q67_2_9985

q67_2_10986

q67_2_11987

q67_2_12

988

Reduced cost or free-of-charge children’s
healthcare
Maintenance of day-care centers (including
day-care for sick children)

Among the above policies,
you have the highest
expectations for (Maintenance and enhancement ofafter-school child care)

1. Strengthening of job support for young
people2. Equal treatment of children born outsideof marriage
3. Legal acceptance of separate surnames
for married couples
4. Strengthening of public pension system(e.g. raising pension benefits)
5. Reduction of the cost of healthcare forthe elderly
6. Enhancement of long-term care insurance

q67_2_13989

system (Kaigo-hoken) (for example,
reducing the insurance premium )58

q67_2_14

7. Enhancement of the unemployment

990

insurance system (Shitsugyou-hoken)
8. Enhancement of Workers’ Accident

q67_2_15

991

Compensation Insurance system(Rousai-hoken)

Other measures

q67_2_16

992

9. Otherq67_2_17993

q67_16_1fa

994

Other: Specific contents

q68_1

995

1. Raising consumption tax

q68_2

996

q68_3

997

3. Raising social security contributions

q68_4

998

4. Issuing treasury bonds

q68_5

999

10. You don’t have high hopes for any
measures.

2. Raising income tax, corporate tax,
inheritance tax, gift tax and real estate tax

Regarding the funding
required for the above

5. Thoroughly eliminating wastefulness inpublic administration

enhancement of social
security, which measure do
you think would be most

6. Decreasing financial support for the
q68_6

1000

elderly (pension benefits, medical andwelfare services etc.)

appropriate?
q68_7

1001

q68_8

1002

q68_9

1003

9. Otherq68_9_1fa

1004

Other: Specific contents

Among the above funds,

q69_1

1005

Most important (which are the three most

q69_2

1006

Second (

q69_3

1007

Third (

q69_9_1fa

1008

Other (specific contents:

important? Please rank

7. Decreasing childcare support
8. Enhancement of social security is notnecessary in the future)))

them in order ofimportance.

)

Family Background When You Were around 15 Years Old
1．Married (including common-law
marriage)
When you were around 15

q70

2．Divorced

1009

years old, your parents

3．Separated

were:

4．Separated by death (widowed)
5．Otherq70_5_1fa

1010

Other: Specific contents

59Birth year and current ageof your father

Your father’s final level of
educational attainment

q71_1fa

1011

Birth year

q71_2fa

1012

Age:

q71_3fa

1013

Unknown

q72_1

1014

Junior high school

q72_2

1015

Senior high school

q72_3

1016

Vocational school

q72_4

1017

Junior college/Technical college

q72_5

1018

University graduate

q72_6

1019

University postgraduate

q72_7

1020

Unknown

if he is still alive

1. Yes
q73

2. No

1021

3. Your father was not living with thefamilyWhen you were around 15

q74_1fa1022

q75_1fa

1023

What kind of job did your father have?
What was the main business activity of thecompany that your father worked in?

years old, did your father

When you were a child, how often did yourhave a paid job?

father talk to you directly about what he did
at work?
q76

1. Often1024

2. Sometimes
3. Rarely
4. Hardly everBirth year and current ageof your motherYour mother’s final level of
educational attainment

q71_1fa

1011

Birth year:

q71_2fa

1012

Age:

q71_3fa

1013

Don’t know

q72_1

1014

Junior high school

q72_2

1015

Senior high school

q72_3

1016

Vocational school

q72_4

1017

Junior college/Technical college

q72_5

1018

University graduate

q72_6

1019

University postgraduate

q72_7

1020

Unknown

When you were around 15
years old, did your motherIf she is still alive

1. Yes
q79

1035

2. No

have a paid job?

3. Your mother was not living with the60

familyq80_1fa1036

q81_1fa

1037

What kind of job did your mother have?
What was the main business activity of thecompany that your mother worked in?
When you were a child, how often did yourmother talk to you directly about what she
did at work?

q82

1. Often

1038

2. Sometimes
3. Rarely
4. Hardly everDid you mother work during the period
after you were born and before you enteredelementary school?
q83

1. Yes1039

2. No
3. Your mother was not living with thefamilyEmployment history of your mother1. She
continuously worked before and after she
got married2. She resigned from her job
after getting married (or giving birth) andhas not worked since then. 3. She resigned
q84

from her job after getting married (or giving

1040

birth) but started working again after her
child(ren) grew up. 4. She has always been
self-employed or has had a side job.5. She
has always been at home, doing houseworkand caring for the children.6. Other7.
Unknownq84_6_1fa

1041

Other: Specific contents
1. Much lower

When you were around 15

2. Lower

years old, how was yourhousehold income

q85

3. Around the same1042

4. Higher

compared with those of the

5. Much higher

neighbors’?

6. Don’t remember.

61

7. Don’t wish to answer.
q86_1

1043

You took after-school lessons

q86_2

1044

Had a newspaper subscription

q86_3

1045

Had a magazine subscription

q86_4

1046

Had own car

q86_5

1047

Lived in owner-occupied house

q86_6

1048

Went out often to restaurants

q86_7

1049

Children had their own room(s)

q86_8

1050

Had a bathtub

q86_9

1051

Had a toilet

q86_101052

Had an air-conditioner

q86_111053

Had a library card

q86_12

1054

Parents raised you with lots of affection

q86_131055

Played sports and other games with parents

q86_14

1056

Parents were indifferent to child-raising

1. Yesq86_15

1057

Parents often helped you study

2. No

q86_16

1058

Parents used violence against the children

q86_171059

q86_181060

q86_191061

Parents could not cope well with stressq86_201062

Parents had strong aspirations

q86_21

1063

Parents argued a lot and did not get along

q86_221064

q86_231065

Mother smoked

q86_24

1066

Parents were often ill

q86_251067

q87_1_1

1068

q87_1_2

1069

q87_1_3

1070

q87_1_4

1071

When you were around 15
years old, how was yourfamily situation?

3. Don’t remember
4. Don’t wish to answer

What kind of support doParents were serious people who paid
attention to everything
Parents were patient and hardly ever got
angry

Parents drunk alcohol in moderation, if at
allParents often supported and helped each
other
Financial support (living expenses etc.)
Housework support (preparing meals,
cleaning, laundry)

you currently receive fromyour own father?

Child-raising support (such as taking
children to and from school/kindergarten)
No support

62

What kind of support do

q87_2_1

1072

Financial support (living expenses etc.)q87_2_2

1073

q87_2_3

1074

q87_2_41075

No support

q87_3_1

1076

Financial support (living expenses etc.)q87_3_2

1077

q87_3_3

1078

q87_3_41079

No support

q87_4_1

1080

Financial support (living expenses etc.)q87_4_2

1081

q87_4_3

1082

q87_4_4

1083

Housework support (preparing meals,
cleaning, laundry)

you currently receive fromyour own mother?

What kind of support doChild-raising support (such as taking
children to and from school/kindergarten)

Housework support (preparing meals,
cleaning, laundry)

you currently receive fromyour spouse’s father?

What kind of support doChild-raising support (such as taking
children to and from school/kindergarten)

Housework support (preparing meals,
cleaning, laundry)

you currently receive fromyour spouse’s mother?

Child-raising support (such as taking
children to and from school/kindergarten)
No support
You had same-sex friends (with whom you

q88_1

talked or played) → number of friends

1084（[FA1]）You had same-sex close friends (with
q88_2

1085

whom you could discuss problems)→number of friends（[FA1]）

Your relationship with

You had opposite-sex friends→number of

q88_3

1086

q88_4

1087

You did not have opposite-sex friends

q88_5

1088

You did not have many friends (of either sex)

q88_6

1089

q88_1_1fa

1090

Number of same-sex friends

q88_2_1fa

1091

Number of same-sex close friends

q88_3_1fa

1092

Number of opposite-sex friends

friends（[FA1]）

peers when you were injunior high school

You did not want to associate with otherpeoplePlanning for Retirement
Your main income sourcein old age: 65-69 (Please

q89_1

1093

Most important (63)

rank 3 in order ofimportance.)
1. Income from paid work

q89_2

1094

Second (

)

q89_3

1095

Third (

q127_1

1096

Most important (q127_2

1097

Second (q127_3

1098

Third (

q127_1

1099

Most important (2. Public pension benefits
3. Occupational pension
benefits (including
lump-sum retirement
benefits)
4. Personal pension benefits
5. Financial assets
6. Support from parents)(including inheritance andliving donations)
7. Support from child(ren)(including living together)
8. Public assistance
9. No thoughts
Your main income sourcein old age: 70-74 (Pleaserank 3 in order of)importance.)
1. Income from paid work
2. Public pension benefits
3. Occupational pension)

benefits (including
lump-sum retirement
benefits)
4. Personal pension benefits
5. Financial assets
6. Support from parents(including inheritance and)living donations)
7. Support from child(ren)(including living together)
8. Public assistance
9. No thoughts
Your main income sourcein old age: 75+ (Please rank
3 in order of importance.)
1. Income from paid work64)

2. Public pension benefits
3. Occupational pensionq127_2

1100

Second (q127_3

1101

Third (

q90_1_1

1102

Parent(s) (includes spouse’s parents)

q90_1_2

1103

Child(ren)q90_1_3

1104

Sibling

Who do you plan to live

q90_1_4

1105

Spousewith when you are age

q90_1_5

1106

Grandchild(ren)65-69?

q90_1_6

1107

Relatives

q90_1_7

1108

Alone

q90_1_8

1109

Friendsq90_1_9

1110

Other

q90_2_1

1111

Parent(s) (includes spouse’s parents)

q90_2_2

1112

Child(ren)q90_2_3

1113

Sibling

Who do you plan to live

q90_2_4

1114

Spousewith when you are age

q90_2_5

1115

Grandchild(ren)70-74?

q90_2_6

1116

Relatives

q90_2_7

1117

Alone

q90_2_8

1118

Friendsq90_2_9

1119

Other

q90_3_1

1120

Parent(s) (includes spouse’s parents)

Who do you plan to live

q90_3_2

1121

Child(ren)with when you are age overq90_3_3

1122

Sibling75?

q90_3_4

1123

Spouseq90_3_5

1124

Grandchild(ren)benefits (including)

lump-sum retirement
benefits)
4. Personal pension benefits
5. Financial assets
6. Support from parents(including inheritance andliving donations))

7. Support from child(ren)(including living together)
8. Public assistance
9. No thoughts65Who do you assume will
look after you when you
need nursing care?

q90_3_6

1125

Relatives

q90_3_7

1126

Alone

q90_3_8

1127

Friendsq90_3_9

1128

Other

q91_1

1129

Spouse

q91_2

1130

q91_3

1131

Spouse of your child

q91_4

1132

Nursing-care helper

q91_5

1133

Parents/siblings

q91_6

1134

Relatives

q91_7

1135

Friends

q91_8

1136

You will join a nursing-care facility

q91_9

1137

Other

Child(ren) (includes adopted children andstep-children)

Data on Housing Conditions
What type of housing do you currently livein?
1. Owner-occupied housing
2. Private rental housingq92

3. Public rental housing

1138

4. Subsidized employee housing such ascompany housing (includes rented housing
provided by company), dormitories or
housing for government employees.
5. Otherq92_5_1fa1139

Other: Specific contents

Current housing conditions

Detached house or a multiple-unit building?
q93

1. Detached house1140

2. Multiple-unit building (such as apartment
or condominium)
Do you have any housing loan left to repay?

q94

1141

1. Yes
2. No
Did you acquire the house through

q95

1142

inheritance or gift inter vivos?
1. Yes 2. No

q96

1143

How much is your housing loan payment

66

per month, including interest?

q96_1_1fa1144

q96_1_2fa

1145

Monthly amount of loan payment (JPY in
ten thousand)Monthly amount of loan payment (JPY in
thousand)If you sold your house (including the land)

q97

1146

now, how much do you think you could sell
it for?

q97_1_1fa1147

q97_1_2fa

1148

Current price of your house (JPY in 100
million)Current price of your house (JPY in ten
thousand)How much is the monthly rent of your

q98

1149

current housing (including common area
charge and parking)?

Current housing conditions

q98_1_1fa

1150

Monthly rent (JPY in ten thousand)q98_1_2fa

1151

Monthly rent (JPY in thousand)

q99_1

1152

It’s too small.

q99_2

1153

It’s too large.

q99_3

1154

q99_4

1155

q99_5

1156

q99_6

1157

The entire interior of the house is dirty.

q99_7

1158

The ventilation is poor.

q99_8

1159

q99_9

1160

It doesn’t have enough electrical outlets.

q99_101161

The ceiling is too low.

q99_111162

It has security problems.

q99_121163

It has a bathtub.

q99_131164

It has a toilet.

q99_141165

It has an air conditioner.

q99_151166

q99_161167

Doors and windows do not open and shutsmoothly.
It is not sufficiently earthquake proofed.
There’s some danger of water or electricalleak.

(continued)
1. Yes2. No

It doesn’t have enough electrical capacity(amperes).

You plan to renovate your current housing
within 5 years.
You plan to move out of your current
67

housing within 5 years.
q99_171168

q99_181169

q100_1

1170

Supermarket, convenience store

q100_2

1171

Bank, post officeq100_31172

Hospital or clinic with pediatric service

q100_41173

Day-care center, kindergarten

q100_51174

After-school child care center

q100_61175

Train station or bus stop

q100_71176

q100_81177

Police station (police box)

3. 10-20 minutes

q100_91178

Hello Work employment service center

4. More than 20 minutes

q100_10

1179

Japan Pension Service office

5. Don’t know where it isq100_111180

Public health center

q100_121181

Social welfare officeq100_131182

q101_1_1

1183

q101_1_2

1184

q101_1_3

1185

Elementary school, junior high schoolq101_1_4

1186

Local clinic

q101_1_5

1187

General hospitalq101_1_6

1188

Local pharmacy/drugstore

q101_1_7

1189

Hello Work (employment service center)q101_1_8

1190

q101_1_9

1191

Social welfare officeq101_1_10

1192

Public health center

q101_1_11

1193

q101_1_12

1194

Community general support center

q101_1_13

1195

Nursing facility for the elderly

q101_1_14

1196

Youth Support Station

Using daily transport (suchas foot, bicycle, car or bus),
how long does it take to

There is a separate room for the children.
There is a separate room for the children, but
the girls and the boys live in the same room.

reach the listed facilities?

Municipal office, town/village office(includes branch office)1. 0-5 minutes
2. 5-10 minutes

In your opinion, which

Park (where playing ball games/cycling ispossible)
Day-care center, kindergarten
After-school child care and other childcare
facilities

facilities are friendly andeasy to use?

Japan Pension Service office (former social
insurance office）

Municipal office, town/village office(includes branch office)68

q101_1_15

1197

q101_1_16

1198

q101_1_17

1199

Bank, post officeq101_1_18

1200

Police station (police box), fire department

q101_1_19

1201

Other

q101_2_1

1202

Day-care center, kindergarten

q101_2_2

1203

q101_2_3

1204

Elementary school, junior high schoolq101_2_4

1205

Local clinic

q101_2_5

1206

General hospitalq101_2_6

1207

Local pharmacy/drugstore

q101_2_7

1208

Hello Work (employment service center)q101_2_8

1209

q101_2_9

1210

Social welfare officeq101_2_10

1211

Public health center

q101_2_111212

q101_2_12

1213

Community general support center

q101_2_13

1214

Nursing facility for the elderly

q101_2_14

1215

Youth Support Station

q101_2_15

1216

Job Café

q101_2_16

1217

q101_2_17

1218

Bank, post officeq101_2_18

1219

Police station (police box), fire department

q101_2_19

1220

Other

q101_19_1fa

1221

Other: Specific contents

q102_1

1222

Noise

environmental concerns in

q102_21223

Air pollution

the area you live in?

q102_3

1224

Crimes such as burglaryq102_41225

Graffiti and garbage

q102_51226

Danger of street accidents

q102_61227

Dangerous to walk alone at night

Of these, which facility is

Job Café
Supermarket, convenience store, department
store

After-school child care and other childcare
facility

Japan Pension Service office (former social
insurance office）

the friendliest and easiest touse?

Are there safety or

1. No
2. A few

Municipal office, town/village office(includes branch office)Supermarket, convenience store, department
store

69

3. A lotq102_7

1228

Stress related to neighbors
Threat of natural disasters (such as

q102_81229

landslide, flood, ground fissure, land
subsidence, ground liquefaction)

Questions on Health Conditions
1．Excellent
2．GoodHow is your current health?

q103

1230

3．Average
4．Poor
5．Bad

How often did you

q104_1

1231

Feeling oversensitive

q104_2

1232

Feeling of hopelessness

month?

q104_3

1233

Feeling of restlessness

1. Always

q104_41234

q104_51235

q104_61236

experience the listed
feelings during the last

Feeling depressed and that nothing will
make things better

2. Frequently
3. Sometimes

Feeling that everything requires so much
effort4. Infrequently
5. NeverFeeling of worthlessness

Future Prospects and Perceived Wellbeing
You are likely to become richer than yourq105_1

1237

parents’ generation.
1. Yes

2. No

3. Unknown

In 10 years, you will be leading a more
Future perspective

q105_21238

stable life with better living standards.
1. Yes

2. No

3. Unknown

If you have problems with housework or
q105_3child-raising, your spouse will help you

1239(please answer only if you have a spouse).
1. Yes

2. No

3. Unknown

In general, how satisfied are you with yourcurrent life?
1. Very dissatisfied
Life satisfaction

q106_1

2. Dissatisfied

1240

3. Somewhat dissatisfied
4. Somewhat satisfied
5. Satisfied70

6. Very satisfied

How do you think you will feel in 5 years?
1. Very dissatisfied
2. Dissatisfied
q106_2

3. Somewhat dissatisfied

1241

4. Somewhat satisfied
5. Satisfied
6. Very satisfied
How satisfied are you with what you
currently do at work?
1. Satisfied
q107

2. Somewhat satisfied1242

3. Neutral
4. Somewhat dissatisfied
5. Dissatisfied
How satisfied are you currently with yourmarriage?
1. Satisfied
q108

2. Somewhat satisfied1243

3. Neutral
4. Somewhat dissatisfied
5. Dissatisfied
q109_1

1244

Spouseq109_21245

q109_31246

q109_41247

Neighbors

q109_51248

Friends

How much do the listed
persons help you when you

Family member living with you besides
your spousehave concerns ordifficulties?
1. A lot
2. Somewhat

Family member/relative living apart fromyou

Public institutions (such as government

3. A little
4. Noneq109_61249

counseling service or child consultation
center)

5. Not applicable
How much do the listed

q109_71250

NPO

q110_1

1251

Spouse71persons help you out with

Family member living with you besides

q110_21252

q110_31253

2. Somewhat

q110_41254

Neighbors

3. A little

q110_51255

Friends

small daily tasks?
1. A lot

your spouse
Family member/relative living apart fromyou

4. NonePublic institutions (such as government

5. Not applicable

q110_61256

counseling service or child consultation
center)q110_71257

NPO
1. UpperIf society was divided into
five classes, to which class
do you think you would

2. Upper-middle
q111

3. Middle

1258

4. Lower-middle

belong?

5. Lower

Do you have a plan you arelooking forward to in the

1. Yes, within a year
q112

1259

2. Yes, more than a year from now

future?

3. No
q113_1_1

1260

Heart or blood vessel diseaseq113_1_2

1261

Lung diseaseq113_1_3

1262

Stomach or intestinal diseaseq113_1_4

1263

Psychological illness

q113_1_5

1264

Eye, ear, or nose diseaseq113_1_6

1265

Skin disease or allergy

1. Yesq113_1_7

1266

Bone fracture or other serious injury

2. No

q113_1_8

1267

Other (please specify:[FA1] )q113_1_9

1268

Does any member of yourq113_2_1

1269

Heart or blood vessel diseasefamilychild,

q113_2_2

1270

Lung disease

parent, grandparent, etc.)

q113_2_3

1271

Stomach or intestinal diseaseq113_2_4

1272

Psychological illness

q113_2_5

1273

Eye, ear, or nose diseaseq113_2_6

1274

Skin disease or allergy

q113_2_7

1275

Bone fracture or other serious injury

1. Yesq113_2_8

1276

Other

2. No

q113_2_9

1277

Your family does not have any serious

Do you suffer from serious
symptoms that hinder yourwork, marriage, or
childrearing?

suffer(spouse,fromserioussymptoms that hinder yourwork,

marriagechildrearing?

or

You do not have any serious disease or
injury.

72disease or injury.
q113_8_1fa

1278

Other: Specific contents
You:

If you answered “yes” in

q114_11279

1. Yesthe previous question, are

2. No

you or your family memberYour family member:

hospitalized?

q114_21280

1. Yes
2. No

Do you perform anything toq115_11281

Jog or take walks regularly

q115_21282

Use the gym regularly

q115_3

1283

Stretch every day

q115_41284

q115_51285

q115_61286

q115_71287

Eat fruits and vegetables every day

q115_81288

Limit the intake of salt and calories

q115_91289

q115_101290

Take fluids frequently for rehydration

q115_11

1291

Avoid excessive drinking and eating

q115_121292

Get enough sleep

q115_131293

Try not to stress too much

Walk or use bicycle or stairs while
commuting
Eat breakfast every morning
Eat food that contains protein, such as meatand fish, every day

maintain health and/or toprevent adult-onset
diseases?

Limit the intake of fatty food such as
deep-fried food

You don’t do anything in particular toq115_14

1294

maintain health or to prevent adult-onset
diseases.

q115_15

1295

Other

q115_15_1fa

1296

Other: Specific contents

Income and Wealth Holdings
How much income(including tax) did you earn

Total annual income, including income
q116_1fa

1297

from stock dividends, real estate, etc. is JPY

during the last year?

xxxxxxxxx (in ten thousand)How much income

You know your spouse’s total annual(including tax) did your
spouse (partner, cohabiting

q117

income.

1298

You don’t know about your spouse’s
income.

partner) earn during the last73

year?
q117_1_1fa1299

q118_1fa

1300

Total annual income is JPY xxxxxxxxx (inten thousand)How much income(including tax) did yourhousehold earn in total
during the last year?
(‘Household’ includes

Total household income is JPY xxxxxxxxxx(in ten thousand)yourself, and if applicable,
a spouse living away fromhome due to job
assignments)
1. Yes→JPY
Did you receive financial
support from your

2. No, you did not receive any financial
q119

support when you purchased a house or

1301

parents/grandparents when

when your child entered school.

you purchased a house or

3. Not applicablewhen your child enteredschool?

q119_1_1fa

Amount of financial support JPY

1302

xxxxxxxxx (in ten thousand)1. Your own financial assets including

q120

deposits, savings and money from selling

1303

stocks and bonds under your name, in total

Your own financial assets

2. You don’t have any financial assets.
q120_1_1fa

1304

Amount of assets (JPY in 100 million)q120_1_2fa

1305

Amount of assets (JPY in ten thousand)1. The financial assets of your spouse(partner, cohabitation partner), including
deposits, savings and money from sellingstocks and bonds under his/her name, in

Financial assets of your

q121

total

1306

spouse (or partner,

2. Your spouse doesn’t have any financial

cohabiting partner)

assets.
3. You don’t know about your spouse’s
financial assets.

How much do you plan tosave before retirement?

q121_1_1fa

1307

Amount of assets (JPY in 100 million)q121_1_2fa

1308

Amount of assets (JPY in ten thousand)

q122

1309

1. Around [FA1] JPY 100 million[FA2] JPY ten thousand74

2. You have not set an amount.
q122_1_1fa

1310

Target amount (JPY in 100 million)q122_1_2fa

1311

Target amount (JPY in ten thousand)

Questions on Inheritance and Gifts Inter Vivos
1. Yes, you have
→ Total amount around [FA1] JPY 100
Have you ever received

q123

million1312

inheritances or gifts inter[FA2] JPY ten thousand

vivos?

2. No, neverq123_1_1fa

1313

Total amount (JPY in 100 million)

q123_1_2fa

1314

Total amount (JPY in ten thousand)
1. Yes, you expect to→ Total amount of around [FA1]

In the future, do you expectq124

JPY100 million [FA2] JPY ten thousand1315

to receive inheritances or

2. You do not expect togifts inter vivos?

3. Don’t know
q124_1_1fa

1316

Total amount (JPY in 100 million)q124_1_2fa

1317

Total amount (JPY in ten thousand)1. You will leave everything, including
assets acquired during your lifetime, to yourchild(ren) as inheritance.
2. You will leave what you inherited fromyour parents to your child(ren), but you plan
to use all the assets you acquired yourself
during your lifetime.
3. If your child looks after you in old age,

Do you plan to leave an

you will leave your inheritance to that child.

inheritance to yourchild(ren)?

Please choose

q125

4. If your child takes over the family

1318business, you will leave your inheritance tothe answer that is closest tothat child.

your opinion

5. You plan to use all the inheritance during
your lifetime and leave nothing for yourchild(ren).
6. You don’t have children (or don’t plan tohave children) so you won’t leave an
inheritance.
7. You don’t have children (or don’t plan tohave children) but you will leave your75

inheritance to a relative or donate it tosociety.
8. You have never considered whether or
not you will leave an inheritance, so you
cannot answer this question.
9. Otherq125_9_1fa

1319

Other: Specific contents

76Appendix C *Brief Outline of the Social Security Pension System in Japan
1. Coverage and Categories of Insured Persons in National Pension and KNH
Every resident of Japan aged between 20 and 59 is compulsorily covered by the
National Pension (NP) scheme. If he/she is a regular employee working for 30 hours
or more per week in the private sector, he/she is covered by the Kosei-Nenkin-Hoken(KNH) scheme as well. This coverage is also compulsory. If he/she is a regular civil
servant in the public sector, he/she is compulsorily covered by the mutual aid
associations (MAAs).
The people actively covered by the NP scheme are classified into three categories.
Atypical employees working for less than 30 hours per week with annual earnings of
JPY 1.3 million or more, as well as self-employed people, farmers, fishermen, etc.
belong to Category 1. Their dependent spouses are also included in this group. Those
covered by the KNH or one of the MAAs are classified as Category 2. Theirdependent spouses with annual earnings of less than JPY 1.3 million form Category 3.
2. Benefits
The NP scheme provides flat-rate basic pensions; the annual amount of benefit is
proportionate to the ratio of the number of covered months to 480 months (1 at the
maximum), irrespective of what his/her income has been. The current monthly
amount for a beneficiary with 480 months of contributions is JPY 65,541 as of 1
April 2012.
The KNH and MAA schemes provide earnings-related pensions; the accrual rate(annual amount) of old-age benefit that the KNH scheme provides is 5.481‰ of theaverage of the pensionable remunerations during the covered period multiplied by the
number of covered months. The average of the pensionable remunerations is defined
to be the sum of the average of the monthly pensionable remunerations and theaverage of pensionable bonuses. The average of the pensionable bonuses is the sumof the pensionable bonuses divided by the number of the covered months. The
formula to calculate the benefit amount of the old-age earnings-related pension
benefit of the KNH is as follows.
The annual amount of benefit(Earnings-related pensions)=

The average of the pensionable
remunerations (Revalued)

77

×

5.481
×
1000

The number ofcovered months

The annual amount of old-age benefit that the MAA schemes provide is 1.2 times
as much as the amount calculated by the formula shown above. In other words thebeneficiaries of MAA schemes receive 20% more than those of the KNH scheme do.
This part of the 20% increment is called the occupational addition of MAA schemes.
The monthly pensionable remunerations and the pensionable bonuses are revalued
according to the increase of disposable income of the active workers so that thebenefit is indexed to the improvement of the active workers’ disposable income levelup until the beneficiary reaches the age of 65. After the age of 65, the benefit isindexed to the increase of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The social security pension schemes in Japan are thus composed of two tiers for
employees, providing flat-rate benefits and earnings-related benefits respectively.
Self-employed people are, on the other hand, provided with only flat-rate benefits.
The pensionable age is now 60 for the earnings-related part of the schemes for
employees, whereas it is 65 for the old-age basic pension benefit. It is, however, to beraised gradually to 65 for the earnings-related part by the year 2025 for men and 2030
for women in the case of the KNH scheme.
3. Pensionable Remunerations
An employee’s monthly pensionable remuneration is the average of his/hermonthly salary or wages paid in April, May and June. It is applied from September
until August of the next year. If his/her monthly salary or wages change sharply, thenhis/her monthly pensionable remuneration is also changed. There is a lower limit andan upper limit for the monthly pensionable remunerations. They are JPY 98,000 and
JPY 620,000 respectively. The pensionable bonus is the amount of bonus with theupper limit of JPY 1,500,000. This is applicable both to the civil service pension
arrangements and the KNH scheme for private employees.
4. Contributions
The insured people of Category 1 pay flat-rate contributions to the NP scheme. The
contribution rate for the FY 2012 for this group is JPY 14,980 per month. Insured
people of Category 1 with low income or no income at all may be partially or totally
exempted from paying their contributions with benefits for such periods reduced
according to the degree of exemption.
The insured people of Category 2 pay contributions proportionate to theirpensionable remunerations to either the KNH scheme or one of the MAA schemes.
The current contribution rate of the KNH is 16.412% in April 2012. The contributions78

are paid half by the employees and half by their employer(s).
The insured people of Category 3, namely dependent spouses of employees, do nothave to directly pay contributions, although each insured month as a Category 3
person is considered to be a month in which he/she has paid the contribution to the
NP scheme. Accordingly, a person with 40 years coverage by the NP scheme totallyas Category 3 can receive his/her old-age basic pension benefit in the full amountthough he/she has never paid contributions. The contributions are effectively madefor them by the schemes which cover their spouses.
5. Transfer from General Revenue
Government makes matching contributions to finance one half of the flat-rate basic
benefit through a transfer from general revenue.
6. Contracting-out Plan (KNK)
The contracting-out plan is called the Kosei-Nenkin-Kikin (KNK, Employees’
Pension Fund). The benefits of the KNK consist of two components: the equivalentbenefit of the earnings-related portion of the KNH (excluding the benefit resulting
from indexing), and the supplementary benefit. The latter is primarily financed by theemployer. The plan must be funded through a trust fund or an insurance contract. The
KNK enjoys the contribution rebate (the payroll tax rebate) between 3.2 and 5.0
percentage point from social security pensions, depending on each KNK’s averageage of their participants (employees).
* Appendix C gives a brief outline of the Social Security Pension System in Japan as at the end of December
2011.

79

Website access: http://www.nensoken.or.jp/pastresearch/index.html
Copyright© 2016 Noriyuki Takayama, Seiichi Inagaki, and Takashi Oshio
Published by Research Institute for Policies on Pension & Aging Tokyo, Japan